Post by atriangle on Feb 16, 2022 2:49:48 GMT
Outskirts of New Hotch. Roughly 3:00 AM
It was very early morning on Hilid, the red sun still many hours away from cresting over the horizon. While the city a few kilometers down the road carried on its endless pace, things were quiet, tranquil out in the vast plains to the far north that butted up against the ocean waves forever churning throughout the night.
An errant phone call ruined this night.
Valerius was dead asleep, taking the first night off from returning from the hellhole of the Golden Expanse, finally relieved by a larger force led by Takeda and sent back for one week off before heading east. There was war brewing to the east.
“Hey Ellie. Who's this Artyom calling you?” Lynn shook Valerius awake much to her dismay.
“My second Lieutenant. Its the middle of the night and he knows I’m on my off week and is probably shitfaced drunk…. Ah screw it” Valerius sat up in the bed and took the phone from her girlfriend and started talking rather groggily.
“It’s three in the morning…….... This better be something actually important or I’ll have you scrub the ships waste tank.”
“You have no idea Eloise. Shit. Orders from the top, they instructed me to give them to you, they want you back now.” His voice over the phone sounded rather hurried and a bit paranoid.
“What’s it they want?”
“They said it was classified, we have a remote briefing on the Cormorant in 6 hours.”
“Fuck. I’ll be there soon.” Artyom hung up the phone after Valerius gave her final response before checking the official daily order log on a separate, much more monitored phone that rang seconds later. She did not need to read it to know what it was. It was not a lie. She clambered out of bed and got dressed for what would be undoubtedly a long day.
“Wait, you just got back? Why are you leaving already?” Lynn protested.
“I’m sorry. I can not say… I’ll be back soon, hopefully it doesn't drag on.” Valerius said as she was putting on her uniform and gave a small peck before heading out the door and down the road before the sun ever rose.
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Aboard the Cormorant Raider, docked to Hilidian Station. 9:15 AM
It had been a rather rude awakening for the vast majority of the small crew of the Cormorant Raider, Valerius’ flagship of choice, an aging cruiser older than most of them here kept around through a long series of upgrades. Roughly 20 of them were milling around with some breakfast in their hands, the extent of the ships crew including herself, were crammed into the briefing room just a deck below the CIC around the holographic display built into the table. No one really looked like they wanted to be here. Valerius was frantically going over the brief report she was given earlier in the morning. None of this was good.
“Alright that seems to be everyone now. Alright, listen up ladies and gentlemen, as many of you such as myself got that order well before the crack of dawn even though we just got put on leave. No one is missing so we do not have to go down that path right now.”
Valerius took a pause as she looked out from the front of the room at the nineteen sets of eyes and faces looking back at her, all of them tired. She felt awful for what had to be said next.
“.......Unfortunately for us, these orders come from the top, the Vǐelstraya Gvarde itself and the situation itself is not a pretty one. A mole from our friends to the east in the High Imperium has recently disclosed information regarding an attack on Hilid itself, a direct one to our populous and civilization with a weapon of mass destruction.”
There were murmurings among the crew, sounds of unease and some fear from the news.
“We have been redeployed, in conjunction with SALTS, Airmarine, and other Aespa Ohkryan assets to stop the threat before it makes landfall, we are to be given direct command of 2 destroyers and system monitors to combat the threat. Intelligence Supervisor Amirov will fill in the rest.”
The holographic display flicked to life and a live video feed of Amirov came into life. He was one of the Vǐelstraya Gvarde, the upper echelon of the armed forces and their command. The second to last stop,
“Good morning men and women of the Aespa Ohkryan, Wing Commander Valerius has filled you in on the operational status of your mission. I will fill in on the more, fine, details. Our mole is a member of the High Imperiums superweapon development program who will remain unnamed for this. This program is known as the Aeon Project, working on bio and psionic weapons that they intend to use on Hilid itself. We have every reason to believe that their use will be imminent by a “rogue” aspect of the High Imperium acting without their governments wishes. As such, we are bringing in foreign help from Mineva to help combat these psionic weapons that we know so little about, in the form of two operatives known as Barret and Aiman as counterterrorism advisors.”
“I could have sworn there was rogue High Imperium stuff before….. If we know where its coming from, and when, can’t we just nuke it out of the sky before it even gets close?” One of the crewmembers in the back asks Amirov.
“As much as I wish this was the case, there is a slight issue. They are using a civilian owned and overloaded freighter. We can not murder tens of thousands of people off the bat.”
“Oh…”
“A detailed report is included with this call. This is top secret information of now, as such absolutely not a single word of this is to leave this chain of command.” The screen went black as Amirov turned off the call.
Valerius looked over at her first lieutenant standing off to the side. “Well this made the morning worse than I thought before. We have to go pick up our guests.”
----
Installation III – Alpha Ceti V – Late Night
Akari Reiko sat in her office, the light fading as the video transmission had ended and her holographic display retreated to its inert projector. She had been staying in well past her tired threshold as was normal these days, observing that the galaxy was still the wildly dangerous place that they had once left. Sometimes, she mused, all of their lives would be easier had they actually been wiped out by Inara’s wrath or simple remained shunted in subspace. She sighed, laying her head down into the crook of her arm and shutting her eyes. These foreign entanglements continued to envelope them, more complicated and volatile with each coming issue. All Akari hoped for was to never have to fight a war on their dusty homeworld again. That hope, however, seemed nebulous with each coming day.
She picked her head up, activating the display to wash the dark room in blue light once again. Another foreign power had asked for help against a foe abusing supernatural powers; something Minevans took a strong oppositional stance to. Using her hand to interact with the controls and information before her, she went through a series of contacts located in the immediate area of Kepler 318.
There were no independent vessels in the region even in the entire galactic sector to support a large-scale support operation. The only assets that she was able to confirm in the region were a handful of individuals, and only a pair that was qualified. Barret Maru was the first, the former grandmaster of the now-dissolved White Hand. He was a shoo-in for nipping a psionic threat in the ass. The second, however, was her own personal Celvian bodyguard on vacation; Aiman of Voros, who was undoubtedly in the throes of inebriation as she sent the alert out.
Despite the dire circumstances, she leaned back in her chair with a smile. ‘Oh please, don’t mess this up, boys.’
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Hilidian Station – In orbit of Hilid – 3:47 AM
The stocky Minevan stood out like a sore thumb by virtue of his features and dress; the top of his head graced with a stark white mohawk and a sleek tabard violet hung upon his shoulders. A fitted black top covered his torso, stopping at his neck, gloved hands, and baggy trousers. His less-than-practical attire and tranquil demeanor visibly baffled the bartender across the counter.
The establishment was past its peak activity, staff tidying up and straightening out the floors, tables, and the stages that the exotic dancers had vacated hours prior. The bartender only stopped his vigorous cleaning to offer the Minevan an annoyed expression. The Minevan was unfazed, offering a smile and a curt bow.
“Barret Maru,” The Minevan introduced himself, “We spoke earlier. I apologize for my associate’s behavior; I’ll take him with me now.”
The Keplerite stared at Barret, unblinking. A long pause took hold, creating tension in the air tangible enough to cut through. Moments passed, the bartender realizing nothing was going to daunt the Minevan before him. He let out a long sigh, before returning his attention to wiping the counter. “Yeah, not soon enough. Remind him that he’s not coming back.”
Barret nodded, “Certainly. Whatever damages to cover, you have my account.”
The bartender pursed his lips and raised his brow in exasperation in response. From the back of the establishment, a pair of brolic bouncers emerged. In between the intimidating men was a small creature, loosely clothed and massively dwarfed by the pair. It was completely slumped and limp, in contrast to the forceful hold the two had on it. It was a Celvian; a six-armed arachnid that stood just a few feet off the ground.
As they got closer, Barret was able to hear its angry lamentations. “Of course you go two on one, scared of a little bug,” The Celvian slurred.
The bouncers looked more tired than upset, speechless. The Celvian fought as best he could, manifesting as little more than weak flailing. “Big for nothin’! Ha! Put me down and we’ll see who’s a real man!”
It took every bit of Barret’s strength to not laugh. He reached over, grabbed the Celvian with one arm and held him underneath it. “Gentlemen, thank you. Aiman, chin up, we have some work to do,” He looked to the Celvian under the crook of his arm, who was still powerless against him. Barret turned and began to walk out of the establishment and into the light of the station’s massive commonway.
“I’m on vacation, you piper,” Aiman spat, his physical resistance dwindling.
“Sure thing, friend. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
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Hilidian Station Dockyard – Hilidian Station – 9:15AM
Several hours of forced detoxification paired with the Celvian’s powerful circulatory system had Aiman sobered up in no time. The pair were still in plainclothes to not cause a panic by walking the station in power armor suits, but still tugged along a hovering pallet and crate along with them to their rendezvous point. Barret still held his blank, peaceful demeanor in a neutral stance. Aiman, on the other hand, stood with all six of his arms crossed and was tapping his claws impatiently.
“This is bullshit,” Aiman broke the silence.
“You know,” Barret spoke quietly, looking down to his comrade four feet below, “There are quite a few lives at stake at this very moment.”
“You think I’m mad because this is important? You dumb fuck,” Aiman jabbed without missing a beat, not sharing Barret’s subtlety, “I’m mad that warlords across the galaxy won’t let me enjoy a couple drops of booze without trying to kill billions of people every three fucking minutes. Absolute farce. Out of the billions of star systems in the galaxy, just always happens to be the ones that I’m at, and only after I’m at the point where I can barely pronounce ‘An-cer-i-ous’. I am going to beat someone silly.”
Barret put a hand up at the barrage he was receiving, “My friend; I assure you we will prevail, and afterwards I will join you on vacation. It appears our transportation is arriving, regardless.”
-----
Hilidian Station
Above the equator and asteroid ring of Hilid lay its station, a bustling and growing hub of trade for the Kepler, originally a hodgepodge of remaining colony ships amalgamated together to form its core to serve as a stepping stone beneath the planet below it is tethered to and the stars beyond.Years passed and now, after a natural growth it is a regional center of trade, population, industry, and an amalgamation of both local and foreign culture. To the Kepler, its importance is second only to their homeland, for a considerable amount of them it is their home.
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Not that many seemed to pay much attention to Barret and Aiman walking among the crowd in the dockyards, robots, humans, and aliens alike walked past without much thought to them the Minevans were only a passing face of other foreign travel alike. Yet as the Minevans walked farther down the dockyard, there were four military vessels docked with a great deal of activity around them, crates being loaded in, robotic infantry by the looks of it, and what seemed to be a palisade limiting access to it with guards stationed nearby not too far away.
Valerius and Artoym were standing among the crowd, she was holding up a tablet with full color pictures of the two minivans and Artyom held binoculars looking out for them.
“See them yet?” Valerius asked as she looked at the time displayed on the tablets top and sipped coffee from a thermos. She was still incredibly groggy
“No, nothing yet.” He looked down at the tablet again as Valerius tilted it over to him and swept the binoculars again across the crowd. Two figures an unmistakable looking Celvian and Minevan.
“Ah here we are.” He passed over the binoculars and pointed at them
“Well lets get a move on.”
--------------------------------
Valerius approached the group of two Minevans with her claw like feet clicking on the metal hangar floor, she had short hair, kept longer on the top and cut down on the sides with a braided strand hanging over her right ear and looked quite tired with baggy eyes and sunken features.
“I believe a mutual friend of ours arranged this meeting? I’m Wing Commander Valerius, this is my First Lieutenant, Artoym.” she said in a hushed tone to Barret.
Artoym took a sniff of the strong stench of alcohol from the Celvian and spoke rather jovaly. “You’ve been to the Golden Lane recently? Now thats a good way to spend your time.”
She gave him a light jab in the stomach “Subtlety of an absolute brick…” Valerius took a small sip of her coffee. “...Need any help moving your stuff?”
----
"Aye, it's true," Aiman blurted out, looking up to the much taller officer, "All well and I'll be back this evening or tomorrow, yeah?" A hearty, chattering laugh escaped his lungs.
Barret cleared his throat, subtly taking the reigns from the tactless creature. "Barret Maru, at your service with my good friend Aiman of Voros here," He gave a curt bow and an empty smile, "I believe you have found the correct group. We should make haste."
The Minevan's pallet hovered several inches off the deck behind them. Barret turned, hitting a switch on the device which produced a glowing holographic interface before him. "Certainly," He hit a few commands on the display, "I simply need to know our destination; would you kindly show me the way?" The pallet followed Barret as he walked, saving them the issue of having to physically bear the considerable weight of their combat gear.
"Ooh, how rude of me," The arachnid standing only to Barret's knee height scoffed, taking a mockingly deep bow on one foot, "Aiman of Voros my fair lady and sir, may I humbly ask you to kindly deign us with the pleasure of your ship and company."
"Forgive him," Barret spoke genuinely, "My friend is very passionate." The Celvian only mumbled in response.
--
Hilidian Station
“Ah we hopefully all will this time tomorrow. Pleasure to meet you Aiman..” Artoym replied back to Aiman, he had a slight bit of concern in his voice as he helped them head on.
Valerius courted on the new group of four further down the drydock and its large windows looking out into the abyss and the constant traffic of ships and specks of asteroids in orbit far below.
“You Minevan’s stick out quite a bit, its the eye’s you know, also the fact Aiman here's a bit shorter than the rest and a Celvian. Plus we got pictures, so makes it a little easier to make it out. ”
Valerius replied back to Barrets quip as they headed closer to the secure area of the, the civilian traffic and the hustle and bustle of shipping and foreigners died down.
“Just up ahead, theres a security checkpoint a few hundred meters away and if you look out those windows you can see our ships. Welcome to the taskforce, Maru, Aiman of Voros” Valerius paused momentarily as she looked at their crates. “.….Both of you brought vacuum suits right?”
They wouldn’t be far now. Out visible from the large bay windows were four ships, two destroyers, a cruiser, and a battleship by the looks of it surrounded by activity with drone craft visible outside loading in dozens of large containers into the ships open hangars, sliding in large racks of anti shipping missiles with their distinct orange colored nuclear warhead buses into launch tubes, save for the much larger battleship that sat in disrepair. All of these ships save for the battleship were painted a pale grey and crimson red with a skull and crossbones painted onto the hull, the signal colors of the 4th Quick Reaction force. These were their tools, what they had to deal with the threat that now faced them.
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“Oh before I forget, take these. Temporary access cards, for your use and yours alone to get through security and into some parts of the ship” Artyom fumbled through his pocket and pulled out the two cards and gave one to Aiman and Barrett.
Up at the security checkpoint there were two policing robots holding onto rifles and less lethal launchers, there was a dome with a camera nested within it to scan the persons face to ensure they had authorized access on top of an ID tag within their suit to remotely scan. Valerius and Artoym essentially walked through without any hassle, showing their face to the camera and one of the two robots flagging them to walk through. Barrett and Aiman already had their faces and temporary cards registered.
The Cormorant Raider stood in front of them, its nosecap docked into the station itself to provide a docking seal. They were here.
--
03:00
Aritz traded glances with the captain as they watched the monitor, and the figures making their way towards the bridge on it. They'd been yanked out FTL fifteen minutes ago and boarded. At first, the captain had been all bluster, demanding the would-be pirates release their ship or suffer the Coalition's wrath. Then they'd gotten a glimpse of the intruders.
There had been no mistaking that armor or the crested helms. Once he understood that he'd been boarded by Legionnaires, the captain had told the rest of the crew to stand down and give the boarders whatever they wanted. After all, he'd heard the stories about what the Legions did to those who resisted. They all had. And now they were sitting here, waiting for their "guests" to arrive. Biting his lip, Aritz chanced a glance towards the pistol under his station. He'd never used it before, but all he had to do was aim and pull the trigger, right?
Shoot out the door controls, flood the corridor with coolant...yeah, he could - As he reached for the pistol slowly, the captain's hand landed on his shoulder and the other man shook his head.
"Don't do it. Even if they don't get us, what they'll do to the rest of the crew...just don't."
He slumped, but nodded as the bridge doors hissed open and four Legionnaires marched in, followed by a fourth, slightly more human-looking figure who removed their helm to reveal themselves as a man with light brown hair. "Well, look at this. You had a welcoming committee! How nice. Spares me the trouble of rounding you all up, as well."
Clearing his throat, the captain stood and stepped forward. "I'm afraid I have to ask as to your intentions. If you're after the cargo, please, take it and go. We won't fight."
Their captor shook his head. "But of course, I understand. Sadly for you, my good sir, I'm wanting much more than just your cargo. However, nobody has to be hurt. Please call everyone up here, and begin setting course for Hillid."
The captain blinked. "But that'll get you caught. Wait. What is this? Why are you he-"
He was cut off by the crackling discharge of a plasma pistol and the lingering scent of ozone. Replacing the pistol at his hip, the man looked around at the remaining crew. "Please, step forward, if anyone else has any further unseemly questions about my purpose here." He waited a moment, then shrugged. "No? Alright then. Set a course for Hillid. And do it now."
Then he left, leaving the Legionnaires behind, and Aritz was left to stare at what remained of his captain's face as the man who he'd known for almost ten years lay there in a crumpled heap, blood seeping from the hole burned through his skull.
---
Further down the ship, Technician Elmet glanced nervously around as he slipped into a spare office and sealed the door before he began accessing the ship's comms net from the terminal. Thankfully, his employer's thugs were still busy setting up the turrets on the outside of the ship and making ready before the ship returned to FTL. With shaking hands, he managed to boot up the Ancnet connection and send his small data packet, warning of what their mission was. Then he shut the computer down, and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. If he went out there now, they might be able to tell something was off, and then he'd really be dead.
He slouched as he breathed in and out, his mind racing. Damn it, this hadn't been what he'd signed on with the Project for! He'd thought he'd be developing new weapons and defenses for the Legions, helping preserve the lives of the Star's defenders on the battlefield. Not...not this. Not genocide, not murder on a scale so massive, it still made him want to retch just thinking about it. Some minutes later, he succeeded in pulling himself together, and exited the office, going to rejoin his group and continue the masquerade.
---
Two hours after it had been boarded, the heavy cargo freighter Mine's Bigger than Yours shuddered slightly, then jumped to FTL, bound for Hillid...and a date with history.
---
Barret accepted his card with little more than a nod and thanks. Aiman received the access card, holding it by the lanyard in front of him with a blank stare. "Oh, it's everything I ever dreamed of."
Barret was unaffected by the process, in contrast to Aiman who was visibly annoyed with being registered and photographed instead of simply sauntering through. The long processes were just roadblocks adding unnecessary minutes between him, the Imperials he was going to kill, and the bottles he was going to polish directly after the fact. His frustration manifested with a curse and insults to the hard-working cop-bots, that had to angle down to look at his short stature. If he had a middle finger, he would have offered it.
Barret drew a deep sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. His typically aloof demeanor cracked for just a breath; an extremely rare sight. He moved on, alongside their new friends towards the nosecap of the impressive vessel. The Minevan looked to their escorts, remarking at the colors and iconography their vessels flew. "Very unconventional. What better for an unconventional undertaking," Barret briefly smiled at what he interpreted as a good omen, turning to Valerius, "Please, show us the way."
"First need a room to change," Aiman sharply cut in, "Then your ops room or whatever. If the clock's tickin'."
---
"Getting a temp card sure beats those syrup and anthrax shots for long patrols. Besides it's just so we keep track of who goes on and off the ship. Never hurts to keep some eyes in the sky"
Artyom replied back to Aiman as he protested the cards. He did not seem to openly mind the spats at the robots, but things were not looking too well in terms of cooperating well with the Celvian. A flurry of activity consumed the space nearby the ship, missile tubes were being reloaded and what seemed to be dozens of robots were loaded into the hangar bay, supplies, and more Kepler Airmarines.
"Don't remind me of those...." Valerius replied. She looked out at the nosecap and the other ships docked nearby and at one of the soldiers and gave a nod to him, he seemed at first glance to be the unit leader.
"Funny you should say that Barret, the Cormorant and its unit here thirty or so odd years ago was a convoy raiding squadron, so the iconography stuck. It leads a very different life now.... Lets get down to the briefing room. Gravity goes sideways when you get on, word of warning."
-------------------
Valerius and Artyom descended down the open hatch on the front of the vessel and were standing perpendicular to the stations floor from the gravity change and lead them down through the extraordinarily cramped corridors and passageways of the ship, it was no wider than one arms length yet did not feel incredibly crowded. Immediately upon entry there was a sign with bright bold red letters with a list of banned paraphernalia, many of them having to do with open flame, non approved food, and electronics. Near the briefing room was the ships armory where the Minevan's could change into their armor, and two other of the Kepler Airmarines getting suited up. They did not try to talk with the Minevans but did give them a few glances. Both of the Kepler officers and the same Airmarine Valerius nodded at earlier were waiting in the briefing room for the Minevans to arrive. Pressing matters were at hand, yet it was not wise to rush head on into them without any sort of formalization.
-------
Inside of the armory, the two Minevans wasted little time in suiting one another up. Suiting up for combat with a unit, dressing down and back up again, was always an awkward experience. The Keplerites' gear seemed to be minimalist and practical compared to the Minevan's sleek and niche power armor suits. Barret was a man of average build, but in his armor his presence was tall and wide. The Celvian on the other hand remained diminutive in stature regardless of the amount of armor he could fit on.
Barret kept his speech to the others as a brief greeting and introduction. Aiman offered jokes and reassurances that he wouldn't stare or sneak peaks unless they had as well. Now that they were suited up, Aiman led the way as Barret negotiated the tight corridors.
Aiman cleared the hatch to the briefing room, and without assessing his surroundings he made sure to unconventionally announce his presence.
"Alright killers," The Celvian strode to the front of the room, scanning to ascertain who was in charge, "Aiman of Voros. What is our course of action, eh?"
Barret simply followed in, offering nothing but a bemused sigh.
---
The two other Keplerites were getting dressed up in their combat gear in the locker room with a good portion of it being empty and did not pay much mind to the Minevans save for a nod, likely a part of the infantry detachment that would be joining them. With most things aboard this ship, it seemed to be built for far more people than what were present, a byproduct of several refits and needed changes from its near forty year old hull from half way across the universe to adapt to a new and changing universe. Manpower was always a limiting factor, a great many things can be accomplished if there were only enough people.
Inside the briefing room there was Valerius, Artyom, and the eight strong airmarine squad were waiting for them to show up with a large scale holographic display and map of both the space around Hilid and hijacked cargo freighter Mine's Bigger than Yours which was a Kepler registered ship.
"Good of you two to finally join us." Valerius said to the rather bombastic Aiman. "Some minor introductions are at hand."
She motions over to the kepler boarding troops. "This is Lieutenant Tassau, commander of the Air Marine Special Operations Unit 03 here. They've done some good work in the past with us, notably in the boarding actions that destroyed the Coronan Bailiff's flagship MOBY DIKK a few years ago."
"It's good to be back, albeit in a much worse circumstance than what that Bailif had to offer." Tassau said, he was the leader for the air marine detachment and was a bit on the shorter and stocky side with fuzzy shortly shaved hair.
"And that is exactly what brings us here today. All of you are aware of the situation and have been briefed on it before so lets get to the short version, yet another 'rogue', as unbelievable as that is, High Imperium Dreftallach and their band of cronies have hijacked the Kepler registered civilian transport vessel Mine's Bigger than Yours and have it loaded with a psionic super weapon they intend to set off. We need to capture the vessel and disarm the device and dispatch of any and all high imperium assets aboard after disabling its engines. The fact they have hostages makes this job much more difficult than it should be, if they didn't we could just nuke that ship into ash."
Valerius replied. She did not seem to like this situation one bit and it showed in her voice and speech, people would need to be sent to die simply to capture a ship to prevent the deaths of many, many more. Trading lives is never viable or acceptable.
---
Hillid System - 12:00
Reality buckled and shuddered as the hijacked freighter hit the edge of the Kepler interdiction field and dropped back into realspace. On the bridge, the crew glanced up nervously as the figure standing at the command console. Growling under his breath, Hevroth Jaros snapped at the navigator. "What the hell are we doing? Get moving, direct course for Hillid. As much power as you can run through the engines."
Still remembering the captain's fate, the poor man at the navigation station cleared his throat, trying not to shake. "We-we can make orbit in twelve hours under maximum safe thrust."
Hevroth cocked his head. "And what about unsafe?"
"We could feed more power into the engines, but it would strain the compensators, and we'd lose power to some of the environmental systems."
A grunt. "Safe is fine for now. Just get going."
A few taps of a button later, the ship rumbled, and then started to accelerate inwards.
---
"It is an honor to be working with such able individuals," Barret politely began. For him, it was not a formality, but a genuine acknowledgement of their prowess. "Certainly our first resort cannot be a nuclear approach."
The large Minevan let the statement linger in the air for pace and effect, before continuing. "Though to be clear, we all know that the option may be the only alternative in the last step of this plan; if we are forced to absolutes. If we can make our way to the device, I am a fairly capable psion who can neutralize its effects. Then we can take these pirates as prisoners or martyrs in short order; their preference, I suppose." Barret's demeanor and delivery were consistently flat and lacked intensity.
"Don't let big guy fool ya," Aiman cut in, "Proper god of psionic bullshit this quarter of the galaxy, he is. We trackin' any exacts on numbers, enemy sit' in general? Anyone here fought these Imp fucks with yer hands before?" Profanity and lack of professionalism aside, Aiman noticeably asked lines of pointed, relevant questions to their operation. In truth, aside from his bluster and rage, he was concerned any time he fought a fresh, unknown foe. "We are going toe to toe in a tight-arse space, need a half-cocked tactical plan at least."
Barret furrowed his brow, bringing a gloved hand up to rub his temple. His face showed effort, flushing with blood and a small vein bulging from his head.
"Come on, I didn't even say noth-" Aiman was cut off before he could slip in a jab.
"We are going to need that tactical plan made on the move, ma'am. I believe our guests are showing face." Barret looked up to Valerius.
---
"Destruction of the ship will be the final step needed if attempts to neutralize the weapon or to externally disable its maneuvering and any potential defensive systems goes south. I believe in your abilities Barret, we simply need to neutralize the command center and the weapon as soon as possible. There are civilians and hostages onboard, I do not want to take this route unless everything else is expended."
The Keplerite commander looked up at the hologram and zoomed in on the technical plan of the captured freighter, it was a somewhat older design serving double duty as a Guild run passenger and bulk cargo ship for years without any real major accidents or run ins with danger before. She motioned for Tassau to continue with the nitty gritty details that needed to be communicated and out of the way.
"Thank you, and this will be our first direct engagement with the imps. We've read and seen reports from the actions other military and paramilitary forces have had against them, and they seem a bit.... antiquated to say the least. Under no circumstances should any of my fellow airmarines, you two, or any of the combat robots close the distance with them unless absolutely necessary. "
Tassau replied to Aiman before pausing a moment to catch his breath and was caught off guard by the emergency lighting and an alert message blasting over the ships intercom.
ALERT ALERT: TARGET VESSEL HAS CONTACTED THE INTERDICTION FIELD AND ENTERED THE SYSTEM. ALL HANDS TO STATIONS. ALERT ALERT.
"Shit. That they are Barret. Tassau, get them to the hangar bay now and prepare for immediate departure. Myself and Artyom will be your eyes and ears up here."
Valerius replied hurriedly as she turned off the hologram and left the room with her second in command in tow up to the bridge. The Keplerite infantryman looked over at the Minevan and the Celvian and told them to follow him to the hangar bay and to the transport skiffs. There was a slight jolt felt inside the vessel as the docking latches separated and as the Cormorant began to move underway.
-----------------------------
A broadcast was sent out across the black to the Mine is bigger than yours was halted by the interdiction field from the systems traffic control center in an automated message. One of the two automated destroyer craft under slaved control of the Cormorant broke off to intercept the freighter with bone crushing acceleration.
"Attention vessel, "Mine is Bigger than Yours.", your ship has been reported hijacked and its presence is now a felony under Piracy Treatise ISE-1635. Enter into a stable orbit and deactivate engines as well as all FTL systems. Any failure of action will result in harsh consequences."
---
The destroyer's message blared onto the frigate's bridge and the posthuman in the captain's seat snarled. "Idiots. Open a channel, no visual."
Frantically, the communications officer did so, then connected the line to the command seat. "Coalition vessel, I assure you that this ship is still under sovereign control, and there are no pirates onboard. Now if you don't mind, we do have a tight schedule to kee-"
He was cut off as Aritz lunged forward, leveling the blaster that had been under his station and firing. Knocking the noble aside, he leaned over the console. "Don't listen to him! They're Imperials, they brought something onto the ship, you have to stop them! St-" A wet crunch and a gasp filled the connection, shortly followed by screaming and the sound of weapons fire. This continued for several minutes before the highjacker's voice came on again. "Well, that didn't quite go according to plan. Nevertheless, please keep in mind the several thousand passengers. In fact, for every hour that you morons keep trailing us, I'll have a hundred of them staked on out the hull. I'll start with the women and children."
Then the channel cut out, leaving nothing but static.
--
Brilliant blue plumes of nuclear exhaust rang out across the expanse of space in a quiet thunder from the Cormorant Raider, they were accelerating towards the hijacked 'Mine is Bigger than Yours' with their boarding troops in tow inside the hangar bays. Their two escorting destroyers staggered out ahead and behind the Kepler cruiser rocketing towards the cargo vessel with the Imperials and their captives in grave danger.
Time was of the essence, and so is the necessity of killing their mobility to prevent planetfall. Leading the pack, the destroyer broke off and accelerated far wide and behind the cargo vessel to reach a target lock on the massive heat source of the engines for later, risking it now would be a deadly mistake.
--------------------------------------------
Aboard the CIC
"Well it being hijacked we already knew, those fucking imps are absolute mongrels. This situation just got a lot more complicated."
Artyom spoke over the general CIC helmet comms as the incoming transmission was interrupted and more unpleasantries were already revealed. He doubted that they were bluffing, if someone is already committed to a suicide attack with such vile hatred they have nothing to lose.
"Crap." Valerius said under her breath as she opened up an isolated communication line to the hijacked vessel and composed a calm and unemotional voice as a mask. Any slip of words would result in the death of innocents, not like they would listen to any of it.
"Attention! This is your second and final warning. Deactivate your engines and relinquish control of the hijacked vessel. We do not negotiate with the likes of you."
--------------------------------------
Inside the hangar bay
Tassou and the rest of the troops filtered into two main boarding craft, they mounted large explosive and plasma cutters on the nose to help expediate their entry and arrival. The squad of Kepler Airmarines was the same as before, with some of them toting heavy weapons along with the robots to help with their eventual heavily armored foe. While there was smalltalk it was for the most part quiet.
"Alright ladies and gentlemen it is showtime. The situation at hand has changed and we have ever reason to believe that the Imperial hostage takers have began to act on their words of bloodshed. We will need to act fast once we are inside to take control of the bridge and neutralize the weapon."
As he walked into the boarding pod he patted Barret and Aiman on the back before he put his helmet on.
"All in a days work eh, make sure your intercomms hooked up."
----------------------------------------------
The two pods shot out of the hangar bay on the Kepler cruiser and towards the captured freighter with a short initial burst of speed and then drifting in under small adjustments of manuevering engines to help go undetected in conjunction with bursts of signal jamming and radar scramblers from the Cormorant. Trying to go undetected as long as possible will help make the surprise last a little longer.
--
Hevroth's only response was a dry chuckle. "Insipid bitch. I'm going to reduce your people to memory and tears on the wind. Better start running. Who knows, you may even survive what's coming."
Elsewhere on the bridge, an alert flashed up on a console as the boarding pods launched, and the woman at the station quickly dismissed it. Hope was on the way, they just had to keep the Imperials occupied. Moving subtly, she triggered a breach alert further down the ship. As the harsh tones filled the bridge, Hevroth's head snapped around to glare at the screen.
"Damned and blast! Someone turn that racket off." Moving forward to send a unit down to the alert, he paused. No other systems were reporting signs of a breach, which meant...
He locked eyes with the sensor officer, and grinned slowly.
---
Heedless of the continued warnings, the freighter continued accelerating in-system, while Legion units and other Imperial assets moved into position. A boarding attempt was assured, the only matter to be decided was when and where.
--
Aiman went through his usual pre-battle routines; checking his weapon, reciting drills in his head, running through his suit's diagnostics, and mentally running himself through any amount of possible situations he thought to encounter. In his mind he had a hundred different fights with a thousand different Imps, planting the seeds of immediate action in his head so when it came to finally react and put someone down, his body didn't force a freeze response.
Barret was crammed in the rear of the craft, barely enough space for his large weapon frames. His greatshield and polearm were not deployed, metal frames saving space and holding nothing but potential energy. His own helmet confirmed the power supply that would light his weapons in their purple blaze.
"My friends, steel yourselves," Barret encouraged. He could feel the space moving around them in their craft; his senses breathed nothing but danger, making his heart flutter in unwelcome anxiety. He accepted the minor emotional response as natural, knowing the time was swiftly approaching. The time approaching was that of chaos, travesty, brutality, misery, and death.
--
"What is the legacy of tyrants and murderers but leaves that drop at a winds breath. Only to scatter away in the forest to never be seen by the light of a new dawn."
The communications line from the Cormorant cut off with Valerius rather... Ominus message for the imperial agressors as they encroached further into the system. The cruiser began to pick up some more speed as it manuevered with its set of destroyers moving on either 'flank' of the cargo vessel several thousand kilometers away in system and got a target lock on the vessels engine as extra insurance to stop it from getting after faster if it ever came to it. Valerius briefly considered doing some blanket communications jamming of the cargo vessel, however that would also mean losing contact with their own boarding pods which would be a disaster in the making. She chose not too.
"Is that Homer?" Artyom asked after the communications line was cut with the High Imperium side of things. He looked back up at the CIC's central command screen. "Pods will make contact in 30 seconds."
"Yes it was... Lets get this over with."
-----------------------------
"30 seconds out. Remember, the amount of civilian casualities we are allowed is a big fat 0. Check your shots and do not get carried away."
Tassou spoke with a conviction in his voice with hope for this to end quickly and with minimal bloodshed. It was clear that some civilians would die today. Ones that did not need to. He looked over at Barret as he made his reassurances to the rest of the small organic boarding team, the robots did not need any of it. They were acceptable losses if needed.
Negative G's came in as the pods began to decelerate just before impact to the freighters hull, with its own acceleration it was a tricky manuever, like shooting a car while riding on horseback, but one that was still plausible. A quick 'thud' was heard as they came into contact on the hull and the 4 side arms screwed into the hull. Plasma cutters expended their fuel in seconds to carve a hole through the hull and into the vessel.
The green light came.
"Seal up, we're in." Tassou said to Baret and the ever finicky Aiman as the robots began to disembark and check their corners first. Small drone like robots split off from a few of the combat robots and began to rocket down the hallways and coridoors to begin reconisance.
--
Alarms howled throughout the ship as the hull breach was registered by the systems, and the dull clang of boots could be heard echoing in surrounding corridors. The Kepler drones came around a corridor some ways away to find a killzone set up with about ten humans covering a large multi-story intersection. A hail of rifle fire rained across the entrance the drone had come out of.
Perhaps as a testament to the quality of the mortal auxiliaries House Jaros had employed, the 'soldiers' fired for almost half a minute, with exactly two rounds hitting the drone, and those only glancing blows at best. Through the drone feed, the defenders could be heard frantically radioing for backup. In the opposite direction, the drones encountered an airlock with two men clumsily suiting up in EVA gear, while fifteen children were tied up in the corner.
---
Back on the bridge, Hevroth grunted and started issues directives. They'd finally landed, now to delay them as long as possible. Every minute that his troops could buy him was a minute closer to Hillid. He stared at the display and his mouth curled into a vicious snarl. Let the games begin.
---
14:36
--
The boarders had opted for the violence of action and boldness of staging their attack closer to the bridge than towards the long and safe stretch of cargo spaces along the aft of the vessel. This put them closer to their objective; slashing the travel time but putting them into direct contact with the enemy. This was both a boon and a disadvantage. They didn't have time to completely organize their entry teams, but the defenders would be disoriented and immediately put into a reactive state; the tactical back-foot.
Aiman watched on his display as a map of the ship's interior had both friendly signatures and confirmed enemy positions superimpose onto it. Some of the corridors, like where they had made entry, were snug single-story service corridors. These side passageways had many exits into major causeways and multi-story intersections. Taking the long way around through the tight service passageways would be time-consuming. Crossing the danger areas and the overlapping fields of fire through the open intersections would provide dangerous, but the most direct route to the enemy.
The Celvian scurried along behind the point team of drone soldiers, monitoring several video uplinks in his helmet. He stacked up next to a hatch, not yet leaving the corridor they had secured.
Barret frowned, making a large thud as he descended into the hallway. He could sense the fear and desperation of not only the auxiliaries, but the children in their proximity. Optimism aside, he knew this situation would swiftly devolve. Until the others devised a tactical plan, he waited.
Aiman held a small camera from his suit just an inch into the open hatch to see his own view of the killzone. Shooters set up in buddy pairs, occupying multiple stories and covering the avenues of approach. "Their fire is ineffective!" The Celvian transmitted to Tassou, "Lay some heavy guns here and get an element to ride a corridor to their flank. We gotta keep the pressure up or we'll get stuck here!"
--
Going straight into the fight and pushing the offensive will not allow for a proper counter attack and keep the High Imperium forces occupied, tied up and away from the objective at hand in needing to capture the command segment of the vessel first and foremost. Firstly however, that hallway needed to be cleared.
In any other situation Tassou thought this would be a quick and easy job, send a pair of robots around the corner to fire grenades into the defenders posistions to flush them out. But as all things needed to be difficult with the Imp's they were using human meatshields, Aiman was right, a different approach was right.
"Couldn't agree more. Units 04 through 07, lay out supressive fire. Keep it controlled and on target, no crossfire."
Tassou stated out voice commands over the intercomm to the robots as they began to spread out and check the other hallways for security threats. Four of them stepped out into the covered hallway and the Auxiliaries fire with little concern for the bullets flying around them and the poor trigger discipline, and over the scrap of the small aerial drone from before. Two of them raised grenade launchers and fired simple visual smoke up into the rafters while the last pair fired their automatic rifles at the heat signatures and posistions of the auxiliaries to keep their heads down.
With a quick gesture Tassou motioned for two of his other squadmates and Aiman to follow, they were going around the side tunnels that ran parralel to the main hallway, it was a tight fit but a willing choice to make to keep up the momentum in this section of the ship.
"Hope you don't mind tight spaces, eye Aiman? We're going around the side and them out."
--
The cameras updated, and the dreft made a face as he went over the ship plans. They'd brought robots. Of course they'd brought robots. Well fuck them, then. Grinning, Hevroth hit a key and then leaned back. Fuck them very much...
---
As the Kepler drones came bursting in on the soldiers at the airlock, the soldiers turned, fumbling for their guns and firing wildly at the robots. Screams filled the air as bullets richoted around the space, some of them hitting the civilians. Short bursts from the bots put the lackeys down, but then there was a clank, a whirr, and a hiss. And then there was the roar of decompression as the airlock opened seemingly on its own, sucking the drones and the civilians into vacuum, before sealing shut again.
On the bridge, Hevroth smiled grimly. No heroes here. Not today.
---
Back at the junction, the soldiers continued to frantically call for support, even as the enemy opened fire. The boarders had meant it as suppressive fire, but between the already rattled state of the levy troopers and their loss of heart at the lack of reinforcements, half of them bolted for it and promptly were shot down. Panicked, one of the survivors tossed his gun out from behind his makeshift barricade, calling out. "I surrender! Please, Star and Shadow have mercy, I surrender!". Less than a minute later, the others followed suit, leaving a clear path through the intersection.
---
Further down the main corridor, Optio Parthes frowned at his display, then turned to the levy commander. "Seriously? I know your men aren't exactly crack death squads, but that was..." He found himself shaking his head. The commander shrugged. "You did tell me to send my worst to hold that junction. Weed out the weak and so on. Frankly, we're lucky they were even there when the commie bastards got there, instead of just cowering in a corner."
"Hmmm...Still not impressed."
"Fair enough, no argument." They both looked up to where the Legionnaires were working with the levy soldiers to set up the last few turrets and then take their positions. While the crossfire area had been a suicide mission, this position was required to hold at all costs, and was ideally suited to do so, situated as it was at the start of a tram line that ran through several kilometers of cargo holds open to vacuum. Further back, the high pitched whine of the mag-train rose in pitch as it arrived, carrying their heavy support element.
--
Aiman took the point position, able to dexterously maneuver his way through tight quarters by virtue of his small physical stature. He kept his attention to the front, rifle tucked under the crook of his upper arms at the ready, muzzle to the front and prepared to level anything that appeared before him. At the same time, he was monitoring and cycling through the multiple video feeds in his wide field of vision.
“Fuck,” The Celvian cursed, not missing a step, “They got their hands up Tassou. We ain’t got time fer this shite.”
Aiman should have guessed the detail; they would either have probed the boarding teams with their most experienced fighters or, as they did, with their absolute worst fighters to see what they brought to the fight. To Aiman, it read to him that the enemy commander was either ten steps ahead, or a total fool playing it by ear. Both possibilities bore potential for disaster.
The service halls brought them into the advantageous position they were searching for. The issue was they no longer needed the advantage here; the only thing left of the would-be defenders were a handful of unarmed, wide-eyed young adults. The Celvian exited their flanking corridor into a covered position, raising his rifle to the first man up front.
They had not brought detainee handling teams, they could not lose their operational momentum and kill time, nor could they simply pass the levies by in hopes they wouldn’t regain their resolve or find ways to fuck them up later. Aiman made the executive decision, wordlessly opening fire on them in rapid pairs.
-
Barret began to walk brusquely, not able to fit comfortably in the same tight space as the others with his projected shield and energy polearm fired up. The massive crossfire was mostly gone, and his shield and armor were ready to serve him well regardless. He could feel the terror and fury among those in his proximity. Further off, growing larger by the moment, he could feel the danger looming over him.
“Marines, prepare something heavy,” Barret remarked over the operational net. He knew the sensation of an armor crew and shock troops very well, even after numerous years, “They were simply reconnoitering us.”
--
Aiman was right, and it conformed along with the objectives of this mission. They did not have the space or ability to reliably take prisoners without slowing down everything, time was the objective. The airmarine squad clearing the corner with Aiman came across the surrendering Imperial levies that were posing minor, albeit important resistance for them earlier.
“This is the part of the job I hate”
Tassou kept his carbine raised and along with Aiman held down the trigger.
Down in the service halls, six shots were heard echoing throughout the empty space as the robots before Tassou came back to link up with the rest of them and the robots were fanning out, clearing the now empty intersection with the bodies of the surrendering imperial levies. It was one of the cruel realities of this mission, despite prisoner taking being a normality, now did not allow for it in any sense of the word.
Currently the small drones flying throughout the ship confirmed what Barret just said, some heavy enemy reinforcements were on their way now. Legionaries and more levies by the looks of things were closing in on them.
“Original plan of splitting up to cover both the bridge and the weapon in the cargo bay is scrubbed. Hostile reinforcements are on their way, spread out and take cover.”
Tassou said over the radio, himself and his squad broke up in the long hallway and took cover behind doorways and whatever else they could find with rifles raised. The robots were what carried the heavier guns, heavy machine guns and rocket launchers, they also spread out a good deal to provide pinpoint covering fire against the coming onslaught. For now the only sound was the whir of electric motors and the sound down the hallway of a coming force.
Aiman was right, and it conformed along with the objectives of this mission. They did not have the space or ability to reliably take prisoners without slowing down everything, time was the objective. The airmarine squad clearing the corner with Aiman came across the surrendering Imperial levies that were posing minor, albeit important resistance for them earlier.
“This is the part of the job I hate”
Tassou kept his carbine raised and along with Aiman held down the trigger.
Down in the service halls, six shots were heard echoing throughout the empty space as the robots before Tassou came back to link up with the rest of them and the robots were fanning out, clearing the now empty intersection with the bodies of the surrendering imperial levies. It was one of the cruel realities of this mission, despite prisoner taking being a normality, now did not allow for it in any sense of the word.
Currently the small drones flying throughout the ship confirmed what Barret just said, some heavy enemy reinforcements were on their way now. Legionaries and more levies by the looks of things were closing in on them.
“Original plan of splitting up to cover both the bridge and the weapon in the cargo bay is scrubbed. Hostile reinforcements are on their way, spread out and take cover.”
Tassou said over the radio, himself and his squad broke up in the long hallway and took cover behind doorways and whatever else they could find with rifles raised. The robots were what carried the heavier guns, heavy machine guns and rocket launchers, they also spread out a good deal to provide pinpoint covering fire against the coming onslaught. For now the only sound was the whir of electric motors and the sound down the hallway of a coming force.
--
From the bridge, Hevroth issued orders briskly, while setting up programs linked to the camera systems to vent the outer hull airlocks if the boarders tried to slip around the defenses. On the upper level, troopers hustled down the main concourse, hurrying to set mines and disable the lift. The fewer access point the attackers could make use of, the better.
---
At the second lift, the Optio flicked through layers on the ship's schematics, frowning as he did. The second lift would disabled any minute now, but he was still in a vulnerable situation. The maze of service corridors and access points on this junk heap was astounding, and it would be far too easy for the enemy to slip around hit him in the rear, then force their way to the lift, and from there proceed to the bridge.
Sighing, he detailed several units to split off into the surroundings to scout and give advance warning. From the lift, there was a whine as the platform settled down and the gleaming white thing on it uncurled and stood up. He shuddered in horror as it glided forward. Just because they needed it didn't make enthusiastic about having it. Shaking his head, he turned back to the display and issued orders for about 20 of the levies to advance down the main corridor, with a Legion squad supporting.
--
Aiman kept tight to the bulkhead, keeping with the vanguard of the squad as they mad their advance. From his gauntlet, he activated a release mechanism that let loose dozens of miniature crawling drones from various ports on his armor. These quarter-sized drones scurried from his armor, scurrying off into the nooks and crannies of the service corridors and ventilation system with haste. A video downlink with his suit showed maps and feeds from his robotic scouts as they collected information.
Some of the side hatches had malfunctioned, denying them full maneuverability but still plenty of breathing room.
"They're moving on us, Tassou. Thirty-plus advancing, aft to stern," Aiman spoke as he ran; legs moving twice as fast to keep up with the much taller men, "Something's coming off of Lift Two-Seven. Big equipment. Can't ID."
--
concluded in journal
It was very early morning on Hilid, the red sun still many hours away from cresting over the horizon. While the city a few kilometers down the road carried on its endless pace, things were quiet, tranquil out in the vast plains to the far north that butted up against the ocean waves forever churning throughout the night.
An errant phone call ruined this night.
Valerius was dead asleep, taking the first night off from returning from the hellhole of the Golden Expanse, finally relieved by a larger force led by Takeda and sent back for one week off before heading east. There was war brewing to the east.
“Hey Ellie. Who's this Artyom calling you?” Lynn shook Valerius awake much to her dismay.
“My second Lieutenant. Its the middle of the night and he knows I’m on my off week and is probably shitfaced drunk…. Ah screw it” Valerius sat up in the bed and took the phone from her girlfriend and started talking rather groggily.
“It’s three in the morning…….... This better be something actually important or I’ll have you scrub the ships waste tank.”
“You have no idea Eloise. Shit. Orders from the top, they instructed me to give them to you, they want you back now.” His voice over the phone sounded rather hurried and a bit paranoid.
“What’s it they want?”
“They said it was classified, we have a remote briefing on the Cormorant in 6 hours.”
“Fuck. I’ll be there soon.” Artyom hung up the phone after Valerius gave her final response before checking the official daily order log on a separate, much more monitored phone that rang seconds later. She did not need to read it to know what it was. It was not a lie. She clambered out of bed and got dressed for what would be undoubtedly a long day.
“Wait, you just got back? Why are you leaving already?” Lynn protested.
“I’m sorry. I can not say… I’ll be back soon, hopefully it doesn't drag on.” Valerius said as she was putting on her uniform and gave a small peck before heading out the door and down the road before the sun ever rose.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aboard the Cormorant Raider, docked to Hilidian Station. 9:15 AM
It had been a rather rude awakening for the vast majority of the small crew of the Cormorant Raider, Valerius’ flagship of choice, an aging cruiser older than most of them here kept around through a long series of upgrades. Roughly 20 of them were milling around with some breakfast in their hands, the extent of the ships crew including herself, were crammed into the briefing room just a deck below the CIC around the holographic display built into the table. No one really looked like they wanted to be here. Valerius was frantically going over the brief report she was given earlier in the morning. None of this was good.
“Alright that seems to be everyone now. Alright, listen up ladies and gentlemen, as many of you such as myself got that order well before the crack of dawn even though we just got put on leave. No one is missing so we do not have to go down that path right now.”
Valerius took a pause as she looked out from the front of the room at the nineteen sets of eyes and faces looking back at her, all of them tired. She felt awful for what had to be said next.
“.......Unfortunately for us, these orders come from the top, the Vǐelstraya Gvarde itself and the situation itself is not a pretty one. A mole from our friends to the east in the High Imperium has recently disclosed information regarding an attack on Hilid itself, a direct one to our populous and civilization with a weapon of mass destruction.”
There were murmurings among the crew, sounds of unease and some fear from the news.
“We have been redeployed, in conjunction with SALTS, Airmarine, and other Aespa Ohkryan assets to stop the threat before it makes landfall, we are to be given direct command of 2 destroyers and system monitors to combat the threat. Intelligence Supervisor Amirov will fill in the rest.”
The holographic display flicked to life and a live video feed of Amirov came into life. He was one of the Vǐelstraya Gvarde, the upper echelon of the armed forces and their command. The second to last stop,
“Good morning men and women of the Aespa Ohkryan, Wing Commander Valerius has filled you in on the operational status of your mission. I will fill in on the more, fine, details. Our mole is a member of the High Imperiums superweapon development program who will remain unnamed for this. This program is known as the Aeon Project, working on bio and psionic weapons that they intend to use on Hilid itself. We have every reason to believe that their use will be imminent by a “rogue” aspect of the High Imperium acting without their governments wishes. As such, we are bringing in foreign help from Mineva to help combat these psionic weapons that we know so little about, in the form of two operatives known as Barret and Aiman as counterterrorism advisors.”
“I could have sworn there was rogue High Imperium stuff before….. If we know where its coming from, and when, can’t we just nuke it out of the sky before it even gets close?” One of the crewmembers in the back asks Amirov.
“As much as I wish this was the case, there is a slight issue. They are using a civilian owned and overloaded freighter. We can not murder tens of thousands of people off the bat.”
“Oh…”
“A detailed report is included with this call. This is top secret information of now, as such absolutely not a single word of this is to leave this chain of command.” The screen went black as Amirov turned off the call.
Valerius looked over at her first lieutenant standing off to the side. “Well this made the morning worse than I thought before. We have to go pick up our guests.”
----
Installation III – Alpha Ceti V – Late Night
Akari Reiko sat in her office, the light fading as the video transmission had ended and her holographic display retreated to its inert projector. She had been staying in well past her tired threshold as was normal these days, observing that the galaxy was still the wildly dangerous place that they had once left. Sometimes, she mused, all of their lives would be easier had they actually been wiped out by Inara’s wrath or simple remained shunted in subspace. She sighed, laying her head down into the crook of her arm and shutting her eyes. These foreign entanglements continued to envelope them, more complicated and volatile with each coming issue. All Akari hoped for was to never have to fight a war on their dusty homeworld again. That hope, however, seemed nebulous with each coming day.
She picked her head up, activating the display to wash the dark room in blue light once again. Another foreign power had asked for help against a foe abusing supernatural powers; something Minevans took a strong oppositional stance to. Using her hand to interact with the controls and information before her, she went through a series of contacts located in the immediate area of Kepler 318.
There were no independent vessels in the region even in the entire galactic sector to support a large-scale support operation. The only assets that she was able to confirm in the region were a handful of individuals, and only a pair that was qualified. Barret Maru was the first, the former grandmaster of the now-dissolved White Hand. He was a shoo-in for nipping a psionic threat in the ass. The second, however, was her own personal Celvian bodyguard on vacation; Aiman of Voros, who was undoubtedly in the throes of inebriation as she sent the alert out.
Despite the dire circumstances, she leaned back in her chair with a smile. ‘Oh please, don’t mess this up, boys.’
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Hilidian Station – In orbit of Hilid – 3:47 AM
The stocky Minevan stood out like a sore thumb by virtue of his features and dress; the top of his head graced with a stark white mohawk and a sleek tabard violet hung upon his shoulders. A fitted black top covered his torso, stopping at his neck, gloved hands, and baggy trousers. His less-than-practical attire and tranquil demeanor visibly baffled the bartender across the counter.
The establishment was past its peak activity, staff tidying up and straightening out the floors, tables, and the stages that the exotic dancers had vacated hours prior. The bartender only stopped his vigorous cleaning to offer the Minevan an annoyed expression. The Minevan was unfazed, offering a smile and a curt bow.
“Barret Maru,” The Minevan introduced himself, “We spoke earlier. I apologize for my associate’s behavior; I’ll take him with me now.”
The Keplerite stared at Barret, unblinking. A long pause took hold, creating tension in the air tangible enough to cut through. Moments passed, the bartender realizing nothing was going to daunt the Minevan before him. He let out a long sigh, before returning his attention to wiping the counter. “Yeah, not soon enough. Remind him that he’s not coming back.”
Barret nodded, “Certainly. Whatever damages to cover, you have my account.”
The bartender pursed his lips and raised his brow in exasperation in response. From the back of the establishment, a pair of brolic bouncers emerged. In between the intimidating men was a small creature, loosely clothed and massively dwarfed by the pair. It was completely slumped and limp, in contrast to the forceful hold the two had on it. It was a Celvian; a six-armed arachnid that stood just a few feet off the ground.
As they got closer, Barret was able to hear its angry lamentations. “Of course you go two on one, scared of a little bug,” The Celvian slurred.
The bouncers looked more tired than upset, speechless. The Celvian fought as best he could, manifesting as little more than weak flailing. “Big for nothin’! Ha! Put me down and we’ll see who’s a real man!”
It took every bit of Barret’s strength to not laugh. He reached over, grabbed the Celvian with one arm and held him underneath it. “Gentlemen, thank you. Aiman, chin up, we have some work to do,” He looked to the Celvian under the crook of his arm, who was still powerless against him. Barret turned and began to walk out of the establishment and into the light of the station’s massive commonway.
“I’m on vacation, you piper,” Aiman spat, his physical resistance dwindling.
“Sure thing, friend. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
----------------------------------------------------------
Hilidian Station Dockyard – Hilidian Station – 9:15AM
Several hours of forced detoxification paired with the Celvian’s powerful circulatory system had Aiman sobered up in no time. The pair were still in plainclothes to not cause a panic by walking the station in power armor suits, but still tugged along a hovering pallet and crate along with them to their rendezvous point. Barret still held his blank, peaceful demeanor in a neutral stance. Aiman, on the other hand, stood with all six of his arms crossed and was tapping his claws impatiently.
“This is bullshit,” Aiman broke the silence.
“You know,” Barret spoke quietly, looking down to his comrade four feet below, “There are quite a few lives at stake at this very moment.”
“You think I’m mad because this is important? You dumb fuck,” Aiman jabbed without missing a beat, not sharing Barret’s subtlety, “I’m mad that warlords across the galaxy won’t let me enjoy a couple drops of booze without trying to kill billions of people every three fucking minutes. Absolute farce. Out of the billions of star systems in the galaxy, just always happens to be the ones that I’m at, and only after I’m at the point where I can barely pronounce ‘An-cer-i-ous’. I am going to beat someone silly.”
Barret put a hand up at the barrage he was receiving, “My friend; I assure you we will prevail, and afterwards I will join you on vacation. It appears our transportation is arriving, regardless.”
-----
Hilidian Station
Above the equator and asteroid ring of Hilid lay its station, a bustling and growing hub of trade for the Kepler, originally a hodgepodge of remaining colony ships amalgamated together to form its core to serve as a stepping stone beneath the planet below it is tethered to and the stars beyond.Years passed and now, after a natural growth it is a regional center of trade, population, industry, and an amalgamation of both local and foreign culture. To the Kepler, its importance is second only to their homeland, for a considerable amount of them it is their home.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not that many seemed to pay much attention to Barret and Aiman walking among the crowd in the dockyards, robots, humans, and aliens alike walked past without much thought to them the Minevans were only a passing face of other foreign travel alike. Yet as the Minevans walked farther down the dockyard, there were four military vessels docked with a great deal of activity around them, crates being loaded in, robotic infantry by the looks of it, and what seemed to be a palisade limiting access to it with guards stationed nearby not too far away.
Valerius and Artoym were standing among the crowd, she was holding up a tablet with full color pictures of the two minivans and Artyom held binoculars looking out for them.
“See them yet?” Valerius asked as she looked at the time displayed on the tablets top and sipped coffee from a thermos. She was still incredibly groggy
“No, nothing yet.” He looked down at the tablet again as Valerius tilted it over to him and swept the binoculars again across the crowd. Two figures an unmistakable looking Celvian and Minevan.
“Ah here we are.” He passed over the binoculars and pointed at them
“Well lets get a move on.”
--------------------------------
Valerius approached the group of two Minevans with her claw like feet clicking on the metal hangar floor, she had short hair, kept longer on the top and cut down on the sides with a braided strand hanging over her right ear and looked quite tired with baggy eyes and sunken features.
“I believe a mutual friend of ours arranged this meeting? I’m Wing Commander Valerius, this is my First Lieutenant, Artoym.” she said in a hushed tone to Barret.
Artoym took a sniff of the strong stench of alcohol from the Celvian and spoke rather jovaly. “You’ve been to the Golden Lane recently? Now thats a good way to spend your time.”
She gave him a light jab in the stomach “Subtlety of an absolute brick…” Valerius took a small sip of her coffee. “...Need any help moving your stuff?”
----
"Aye, it's true," Aiman blurted out, looking up to the much taller officer, "All well and I'll be back this evening or tomorrow, yeah?" A hearty, chattering laugh escaped his lungs.
Barret cleared his throat, subtly taking the reigns from the tactless creature. "Barret Maru, at your service with my good friend Aiman of Voros here," He gave a curt bow and an empty smile, "I believe you have found the correct group. We should make haste."
The Minevan's pallet hovered several inches off the deck behind them. Barret turned, hitting a switch on the device which produced a glowing holographic interface before him. "Certainly," He hit a few commands on the display, "I simply need to know our destination; would you kindly show me the way?" The pallet followed Barret as he walked, saving them the issue of having to physically bear the considerable weight of their combat gear.
"Ooh, how rude of me," The arachnid standing only to Barret's knee height scoffed, taking a mockingly deep bow on one foot, "Aiman of Voros my fair lady and sir, may I humbly ask you to kindly deign us with the pleasure of your ship and company."
"Forgive him," Barret spoke genuinely, "My friend is very passionate." The Celvian only mumbled in response.
--
Hilidian Station
“Ah we hopefully all will this time tomorrow. Pleasure to meet you Aiman..” Artoym replied back to Aiman, he had a slight bit of concern in his voice as he helped them head on.
Valerius courted on the new group of four further down the drydock and its large windows looking out into the abyss and the constant traffic of ships and specks of asteroids in orbit far below.
“You Minevan’s stick out quite a bit, its the eye’s you know, also the fact Aiman here's a bit shorter than the rest and a Celvian. Plus we got pictures, so makes it a little easier to make it out. ”
Valerius replied back to Barrets quip as they headed closer to the secure area of the, the civilian traffic and the hustle and bustle of shipping and foreigners died down.
“Just up ahead, theres a security checkpoint a few hundred meters away and if you look out those windows you can see our ships. Welcome to the taskforce, Maru, Aiman of Voros” Valerius paused momentarily as she looked at their crates. “.….Both of you brought vacuum suits right?”
They wouldn’t be far now. Out visible from the large bay windows were four ships, two destroyers, a cruiser, and a battleship by the looks of it surrounded by activity with drone craft visible outside loading in dozens of large containers into the ships open hangars, sliding in large racks of anti shipping missiles with their distinct orange colored nuclear warhead buses into launch tubes, save for the much larger battleship that sat in disrepair. All of these ships save for the battleship were painted a pale grey and crimson red with a skull and crossbones painted onto the hull, the signal colors of the 4th Quick Reaction force. These were their tools, what they had to deal with the threat that now faced them.
----------
“Oh before I forget, take these. Temporary access cards, for your use and yours alone to get through security and into some parts of the ship” Artyom fumbled through his pocket and pulled out the two cards and gave one to Aiman and Barrett.
Up at the security checkpoint there were two policing robots holding onto rifles and less lethal launchers, there was a dome with a camera nested within it to scan the persons face to ensure they had authorized access on top of an ID tag within their suit to remotely scan. Valerius and Artoym essentially walked through without any hassle, showing their face to the camera and one of the two robots flagging them to walk through. Barrett and Aiman already had their faces and temporary cards registered.
The Cormorant Raider stood in front of them, its nosecap docked into the station itself to provide a docking seal. They were here.
--
03:00
Aritz traded glances with the captain as they watched the monitor, and the figures making their way towards the bridge on it. They'd been yanked out FTL fifteen minutes ago and boarded. At first, the captain had been all bluster, demanding the would-be pirates release their ship or suffer the Coalition's wrath. Then they'd gotten a glimpse of the intruders.
There had been no mistaking that armor or the crested helms. Once he understood that he'd been boarded by Legionnaires, the captain had told the rest of the crew to stand down and give the boarders whatever they wanted. After all, he'd heard the stories about what the Legions did to those who resisted. They all had. And now they were sitting here, waiting for their "guests" to arrive. Biting his lip, Aritz chanced a glance towards the pistol under his station. He'd never used it before, but all he had to do was aim and pull the trigger, right?
Shoot out the door controls, flood the corridor with coolant...yeah, he could - As he reached for the pistol slowly, the captain's hand landed on his shoulder and the other man shook his head.
"Don't do it. Even if they don't get us, what they'll do to the rest of the crew...just don't."
He slumped, but nodded as the bridge doors hissed open and four Legionnaires marched in, followed by a fourth, slightly more human-looking figure who removed their helm to reveal themselves as a man with light brown hair. "Well, look at this. You had a welcoming committee! How nice. Spares me the trouble of rounding you all up, as well."
Clearing his throat, the captain stood and stepped forward. "I'm afraid I have to ask as to your intentions. If you're after the cargo, please, take it and go. We won't fight."
Their captor shook his head. "But of course, I understand. Sadly for you, my good sir, I'm wanting much more than just your cargo. However, nobody has to be hurt. Please call everyone up here, and begin setting course for Hillid."
The captain blinked. "But that'll get you caught. Wait. What is this? Why are you he-"
He was cut off by the crackling discharge of a plasma pistol and the lingering scent of ozone. Replacing the pistol at his hip, the man looked around at the remaining crew. "Please, step forward, if anyone else has any further unseemly questions about my purpose here." He waited a moment, then shrugged. "No? Alright then. Set a course for Hillid. And do it now."
Then he left, leaving the Legionnaires behind, and Aritz was left to stare at what remained of his captain's face as the man who he'd known for almost ten years lay there in a crumpled heap, blood seeping from the hole burned through his skull.
---
Further down the ship, Technician Elmet glanced nervously around as he slipped into a spare office and sealed the door before he began accessing the ship's comms net from the terminal. Thankfully, his employer's thugs were still busy setting up the turrets on the outside of the ship and making ready before the ship returned to FTL. With shaking hands, he managed to boot up the Ancnet connection and send his small data packet, warning of what their mission was. Then he shut the computer down, and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. If he went out there now, they might be able to tell something was off, and then he'd really be dead.
He slouched as he breathed in and out, his mind racing. Damn it, this hadn't been what he'd signed on with the Project for! He'd thought he'd be developing new weapons and defenses for the Legions, helping preserve the lives of the Star's defenders on the battlefield. Not...not this. Not genocide, not murder on a scale so massive, it still made him want to retch just thinking about it. Some minutes later, he succeeded in pulling himself together, and exited the office, going to rejoin his group and continue the masquerade.
---
Two hours after it had been boarded, the heavy cargo freighter Mine's Bigger than Yours shuddered slightly, then jumped to FTL, bound for Hillid...and a date with history.
---
Barret accepted his card with little more than a nod and thanks. Aiman received the access card, holding it by the lanyard in front of him with a blank stare. "Oh, it's everything I ever dreamed of."
Barret was unaffected by the process, in contrast to Aiman who was visibly annoyed with being registered and photographed instead of simply sauntering through. The long processes were just roadblocks adding unnecessary minutes between him, the Imperials he was going to kill, and the bottles he was going to polish directly after the fact. His frustration manifested with a curse and insults to the hard-working cop-bots, that had to angle down to look at his short stature. If he had a middle finger, he would have offered it.
Barret drew a deep sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. His typically aloof demeanor cracked for just a breath; an extremely rare sight. He moved on, alongside their new friends towards the nosecap of the impressive vessel. The Minevan looked to their escorts, remarking at the colors and iconography their vessels flew. "Very unconventional. What better for an unconventional undertaking," Barret briefly smiled at what he interpreted as a good omen, turning to Valerius, "Please, show us the way."
"First need a room to change," Aiman sharply cut in, "Then your ops room or whatever. If the clock's tickin'."
---
"Getting a temp card sure beats those syrup and anthrax shots for long patrols. Besides it's just so we keep track of who goes on and off the ship. Never hurts to keep some eyes in the sky"
Artyom replied back to Aiman as he protested the cards. He did not seem to openly mind the spats at the robots, but things were not looking too well in terms of cooperating well with the Celvian. A flurry of activity consumed the space nearby the ship, missile tubes were being reloaded and what seemed to be dozens of robots were loaded into the hangar bay, supplies, and more Kepler Airmarines.
"Don't remind me of those...." Valerius replied. She looked out at the nosecap and the other ships docked nearby and at one of the soldiers and gave a nod to him, he seemed at first glance to be the unit leader.
"Funny you should say that Barret, the Cormorant and its unit here thirty or so odd years ago was a convoy raiding squadron, so the iconography stuck. It leads a very different life now.... Lets get down to the briefing room. Gravity goes sideways when you get on, word of warning."
-------------------
Valerius and Artyom descended down the open hatch on the front of the vessel and were standing perpendicular to the stations floor from the gravity change and lead them down through the extraordinarily cramped corridors and passageways of the ship, it was no wider than one arms length yet did not feel incredibly crowded. Immediately upon entry there was a sign with bright bold red letters with a list of banned paraphernalia, many of them having to do with open flame, non approved food, and electronics. Near the briefing room was the ships armory where the Minevan's could change into their armor, and two other of the Kepler Airmarines getting suited up. They did not try to talk with the Minevans but did give them a few glances. Both of the Kepler officers and the same Airmarine Valerius nodded at earlier were waiting in the briefing room for the Minevans to arrive. Pressing matters were at hand, yet it was not wise to rush head on into them without any sort of formalization.
-------
Inside of the armory, the two Minevans wasted little time in suiting one another up. Suiting up for combat with a unit, dressing down and back up again, was always an awkward experience. The Keplerites' gear seemed to be minimalist and practical compared to the Minevan's sleek and niche power armor suits. Barret was a man of average build, but in his armor his presence was tall and wide. The Celvian on the other hand remained diminutive in stature regardless of the amount of armor he could fit on.
Barret kept his speech to the others as a brief greeting and introduction. Aiman offered jokes and reassurances that he wouldn't stare or sneak peaks unless they had as well. Now that they were suited up, Aiman led the way as Barret negotiated the tight corridors.
Aiman cleared the hatch to the briefing room, and without assessing his surroundings he made sure to unconventionally announce his presence.
"Alright killers," The Celvian strode to the front of the room, scanning to ascertain who was in charge, "Aiman of Voros. What is our course of action, eh?"
Barret simply followed in, offering nothing but a bemused sigh.
---
The two other Keplerites were getting dressed up in their combat gear in the locker room with a good portion of it being empty and did not pay much mind to the Minevans save for a nod, likely a part of the infantry detachment that would be joining them. With most things aboard this ship, it seemed to be built for far more people than what were present, a byproduct of several refits and needed changes from its near forty year old hull from half way across the universe to adapt to a new and changing universe. Manpower was always a limiting factor, a great many things can be accomplished if there were only enough people.
Inside the briefing room there was Valerius, Artyom, and the eight strong airmarine squad were waiting for them to show up with a large scale holographic display and map of both the space around Hilid and hijacked cargo freighter Mine's Bigger than Yours which was a Kepler registered ship.
"Good of you two to finally join us." Valerius said to the rather bombastic Aiman. "Some minor introductions are at hand."
She motions over to the kepler boarding troops. "This is Lieutenant Tassau, commander of the Air Marine Special Operations Unit 03 here. They've done some good work in the past with us, notably in the boarding actions that destroyed the Coronan Bailiff's flagship MOBY DIKK a few years ago."
"It's good to be back, albeit in a much worse circumstance than what that Bailif had to offer." Tassau said, he was the leader for the air marine detachment and was a bit on the shorter and stocky side with fuzzy shortly shaved hair.
"And that is exactly what brings us here today. All of you are aware of the situation and have been briefed on it before so lets get to the short version, yet another 'rogue', as unbelievable as that is, High Imperium Dreftallach and their band of cronies have hijacked the Kepler registered civilian transport vessel Mine's Bigger than Yours and have it loaded with a psionic super weapon they intend to set off. We need to capture the vessel and disarm the device and dispatch of any and all high imperium assets aboard after disabling its engines. The fact they have hostages makes this job much more difficult than it should be, if they didn't we could just nuke that ship into ash."
Valerius replied. She did not seem to like this situation one bit and it showed in her voice and speech, people would need to be sent to die simply to capture a ship to prevent the deaths of many, many more. Trading lives is never viable or acceptable.
---
Hillid System - 12:00
Reality buckled and shuddered as the hijacked freighter hit the edge of the Kepler interdiction field and dropped back into realspace. On the bridge, the crew glanced up nervously as the figure standing at the command console. Growling under his breath, Hevroth Jaros snapped at the navigator. "What the hell are we doing? Get moving, direct course for Hillid. As much power as you can run through the engines."
Still remembering the captain's fate, the poor man at the navigation station cleared his throat, trying not to shake. "We-we can make orbit in twelve hours under maximum safe thrust."
Hevroth cocked his head. "And what about unsafe?"
"We could feed more power into the engines, but it would strain the compensators, and we'd lose power to some of the environmental systems."
A grunt. "Safe is fine for now. Just get going."
A few taps of a button later, the ship rumbled, and then started to accelerate inwards.
---
"It is an honor to be working with such able individuals," Barret politely began. For him, it was not a formality, but a genuine acknowledgement of their prowess. "Certainly our first resort cannot be a nuclear approach."
The large Minevan let the statement linger in the air for pace and effect, before continuing. "Though to be clear, we all know that the option may be the only alternative in the last step of this plan; if we are forced to absolutes. If we can make our way to the device, I am a fairly capable psion who can neutralize its effects. Then we can take these pirates as prisoners or martyrs in short order; their preference, I suppose." Barret's demeanor and delivery were consistently flat and lacked intensity.
"Don't let big guy fool ya," Aiman cut in, "Proper god of psionic bullshit this quarter of the galaxy, he is. We trackin' any exacts on numbers, enemy sit' in general? Anyone here fought these Imp fucks with yer hands before?" Profanity and lack of professionalism aside, Aiman noticeably asked lines of pointed, relevant questions to their operation. In truth, aside from his bluster and rage, he was concerned any time he fought a fresh, unknown foe. "We are going toe to toe in a tight-arse space, need a half-cocked tactical plan at least."
Barret furrowed his brow, bringing a gloved hand up to rub his temple. His face showed effort, flushing with blood and a small vein bulging from his head.
"Come on, I didn't even say noth-" Aiman was cut off before he could slip in a jab.
"We are going to need that tactical plan made on the move, ma'am. I believe our guests are showing face." Barret looked up to Valerius.
---
"Destruction of the ship will be the final step needed if attempts to neutralize the weapon or to externally disable its maneuvering and any potential defensive systems goes south. I believe in your abilities Barret, we simply need to neutralize the command center and the weapon as soon as possible. There are civilians and hostages onboard, I do not want to take this route unless everything else is expended."
The Keplerite commander looked up at the hologram and zoomed in on the technical plan of the captured freighter, it was a somewhat older design serving double duty as a Guild run passenger and bulk cargo ship for years without any real major accidents or run ins with danger before. She motioned for Tassau to continue with the nitty gritty details that needed to be communicated and out of the way.
"Thank you, and this will be our first direct engagement with the imps. We've read and seen reports from the actions other military and paramilitary forces have had against them, and they seem a bit.... antiquated to say the least. Under no circumstances should any of my fellow airmarines, you two, or any of the combat robots close the distance with them unless absolutely necessary. "
Tassau replied to Aiman before pausing a moment to catch his breath and was caught off guard by the emergency lighting and an alert message blasting over the ships intercom.
ALERT ALERT: TARGET VESSEL HAS CONTACTED THE INTERDICTION FIELD AND ENTERED THE SYSTEM. ALL HANDS TO STATIONS. ALERT ALERT.
"Shit. That they are Barret. Tassau, get them to the hangar bay now and prepare for immediate departure. Myself and Artyom will be your eyes and ears up here."
Valerius replied hurriedly as she turned off the hologram and left the room with her second in command in tow up to the bridge. The Keplerite infantryman looked over at the Minevan and the Celvian and told them to follow him to the hangar bay and to the transport skiffs. There was a slight jolt felt inside the vessel as the docking latches separated and as the Cormorant began to move underway.
-----------------------------
A broadcast was sent out across the black to the Mine is bigger than yours was halted by the interdiction field from the systems traffic control center in an automated message. One of the two automated destroyer craft under slaved control of the Cormorant broke off to intercept the freighter with bone crushing acceleration.
"Attention vessel, "Mine is Bigger than Yours.", your ship has been reported hijacked and its presence is now a felony under Piracy Treatise ISE-1635. Enter into a stable orbit and deactivate engines as well as all FTL systems. Any failure of action will result in harsh consequences."
---
The destroyer's message blared onto the frigate's bridge and the posthuman in the captain's seat snarled. "Idiots. Open a channel, no visual."
Frantically, the communications officer did so, then connected the line to the command seat. "Coalition vessel, I assure you that this ship is still under sovereign control, and there are no pirates onboard. Now if you don't mind, we do have a tight schedule to kee-"
He was cut off as Aritz lunged forward, leveling the blaster that had been under his station and firing. Knocking the noble aside, he leaned over the console. "Don't listen to him! They're Imperials, they brought something onto the ship, you have to stop them! St-" A wet crunch and a gasp filled the connection, shortly followed by screaming and the sound of weapons fire. This continued for several minutes before the highjacker's voice came on again. "Well, that didn't quite go according to plan. Nevertheless, please keep in mind the several thousand passengers. In fact, for every hour that you morons keep trailing us, I'll have a hundred of them staked on out the hull. I'll start with the women and children."
Then the channel cut out, leaving nothing but static.
--
Brilliant blue plumes of nuclear exhaust rang out across the expanse of space in a quiet thunder from the Cormorant Raider, they were accelerating towards the hijacked 'Mine is Bigger than Yours' with their boarding troops in tow inside the hangar bays. Their two escorting destroyers staggered out ahead and behind the Kepler cruiser rocketing towards the cargo vessel with the Imperials and their captives in grave danger.
Time was of the essence, and so is the necessity of killing their mobility to prevent planetfall. Leading the pack, the destroyer broke off and accelerated far wide and behind the cargo vessel to reach a target lock on the massive heat source of the engines for later, risking it now would be a deadly mistake.
--------------------------------------------
Aboard the CIC
"Well it being hijacked we already knew, those fucking imps are absolute mongrels. This situation just got a lot more complicated."
Artyom spoke over the general CIC helmet comms as the incoming transmission was interrupted and more unpleasantries were already revealed. He doubted that they were bluffing, if someone is already committed to a suicide attack with such vile hatred they have nothing to lose.
"Crap." Valerius said under her breath as she opened up an isolated communication line to the hijacked vessel and composed a calm and unemotional voice as a mask. Any slip of words would result in the death of innocents, not like they would listen to any of it.
"Attention! This is your second and final warning. Deactivate your engines and relinquish control of the hijacked vessel. We do not negotiate with the likes of you."
--------------------------------------
Inside the hangar bay
Tassou and the rest of the troops filtered into two main boarding craft, they mounted large explosive and plasma cutters on the nose to help expediate their entry and arrival. The squad of Kepler Airmarines was the same as before, with some of them toting heavy weapons along with the robots to help with their eventual heavily armored foe. While there was smalltalk it was for the most part quiet.
"Alright ladies and gentlemen it is showtime. The situation at hand has changed and we have ever reason to believe that the Imperial hostage takers have began to act on their words of bloodshed. We will need to act fast once we are inside to take control of the bridge and neutralize the weapon."
As he walked into the boarding pod he patted Barret and Aiman on the back before he put his helmet on.
"All in a days work eh, make sure your intercomms hooked up."
----------------------------------------------
The two pods shot out of the hangar bay on the Kepler cruiser and towards the captured freighter with a short initial burst of speed and then drifting in under small adjustments of manuevering engines to help go undetected in conjunction with bursts of signal jamming and radar scramblers from the Cormorant. Trying to go undetected as long as possible will help make the surprise last a little longer.
--
Hevroth's only response was a dry chuckle. "Insipid bitch. I'm going to reduce your people to memory and tears on the wind. Better start running. Who knows, you may even survive what's coming."
Elsewhere on the bridge, an alert flashed up on a console as the boarding pods launched, and the woman at the station quickly dismissed it. Hope was on the way, they just had to keep the Imperials occupied. Moving subtly, she triggered a breach alert further down the ship. As the harsh tones filled the bridge, Hevroth's head snapped around to glare at the screen.
"Damned and blast! Someone turn that racket off." Moving forward to send a unit down to the alert, he paused. No other systems were reporting signs of a breach, which meant...
He locked eyes with the sensor officer, and grinned slowly.
---
Heedless of the continued warnings, the freighter continued accelerating in-system, while Legion units and other Imperial assets moved into position. A boarding attempt was assured, the only matter to be decided was when and where.
--
Aiman went through his usual pre-battle routines; checking his weapon, reciting drills in his head, running through his suit's diagnostics, and mentally running himself through any amount of possible situations he thought to encounter. In his mind he had a hundred different fights with a thousand different Imps, planting the seeds of immediate action in his head so when it came to finally react and put someone down, his body didn't force a freeze response.
Barret was crammed in the rear of the craft, barely enough space for his large weapon frames. His greatshield and polearm were not deployed, metal frames saving space and holding nothing but potential energy. His own helmet confirmed the power supply that would light his weapons in their purple blaze.
"My friends, steel yourselves," Barret encouraged. He could feel the space moving around them in their craft; his senses breathed nothing but danger, making his heart flutter in unwelcome anxiety. He accepted the minor emotional response as natural, knowing the time was swiftly approaching. The time approaching was that of chaos, travesty, brutality, misery, and death.
--
"What is the legacy of tyrants and murderers but leaves that drop at a winds breath. Only to scatter away in the forest to never be seen by the light of a new dawn."
The communications line from the Cormorant cut off with Valerius rather... Ominus message for the imperial agressors as they encroached further into the system. The cruiser began to pick up some more speed as it manuevered with its set of destroyers moving on either 'flank' of the cargo vessel several thousand kilometers away in system and got a target lock on the vessels engine as extra insurance to stop it from getting after faster if it ever came to it. Valerius briefly considered doing some blanket communications jamming of the cargo vessel, however that would also mean losing contact with their own boarding pods which would be a disaster in the making. She chose not too.
"Is that Homer?" Artyom asked after the communications line was cut with the High Imperium side of things. He looked back up at the CIC's central command screen. "Pods will make contact in 30 seconds."
"Yes it was... Lets get this over with."
-----------------------------
"30 seconds out. Remember, the amount of civilian casualities we are allowed is a big fat 0. Check your shots and do not get carried away."
Tassou spoke with a conviction in his voice with hope for this to end quickly and with minimal bloodshed. It was clear that some civilians would die today. Ones that did not need to. He looked over at Barret as he made his reassurances to the rest of the small organic boarding team, the robots did not need any of it. They were acceptable losses if needed.
Negative G's came in as the pods began to decelerate just before impact to the freighters hull, with its own acceleration it was a tricky manuever, like shooting a car while riding on horseback, but one that was still plausible. A quick 'thud' was heard as they came into contact on the hull and the 4 side arms screwed into the hull. Plasma cutters expended their fuel in seconds to carve a hole through the hull and into the vessel.
The green light came.
"Seal up, we're in." Tassou said to Baret and the ever finicky Aiman as the robots began to disembark and check their corners first. Small drone like robots split off from a few of the combat robots and began to rocket down the hallways and coridoors to begin reconisance.
--
Alarms howled throughout the ship as the hull breach was registered by the systems, and the dull clang of boots could be heard echoing in surrounding corridors. The Kepler drones came around a corridor some ways away to find a killzone set up with about ten humans covering a large multi-story intersection. A hail of rifle fire rained across the entrance the drone had come out of.
Perhaps as a testament to the quality of the mortal auxiliaries House Jaros had employed, the 'soldiers' fired for almost half a minute, with exactly two rounds hitting the drone, and those only glancing blows at best. Through the drone feed, the defenders could be heard frantically radioing for backup. In the opposite direction, the drones encountered an airlock with two men clumsily suiting up in EVA gear, while fifteen children were tied up in the corner.
---
Back on the bridge, Hevroth grunted and started issues directives. They'd finally landed, now to delay them as long as possible. Every minute that his troops could buy him was a minute closer to Hillid. He stared at the display and his mouth curled into a vicious snarl. Let the games begin.
---
14:36
--
The boarders had opted for the violence of action and boldness of staging their attack closer to the bridge than towards the long and safe stretch of cargo spaces along the aft of the vessel. This put them closer to their objective; slashing the travel time but putting them into direct contact with the enemy. This was both a boon and a disadvantage. They didn't have time to completely organize their entry teams, but the defenders would be disoriented and immediately put into a reactive state; the tactical back-foot.
Aiman watched on his display as a map of the ship's interior had both friendly signatures and confirmed enemy positions superimpose onto it. Some of the corridors, like where they had made entry, were snug single-story service corridors. These side passageways had many exits into major causeways and multi-story intersections. Taking the long way around through the tight service passageways would be time-consuming. Crossing the danger areas and the overlapping fields of fire through the open intersections would provide dangerous, but the most direct route to the enemy.
The Celvian scurried along behind the point team of drone soldiers, monitoring several video uplinks in his helmet. He stacked up next to a hatch, not yet leaving the corridor they had secured.
Barret frowned, making a large thud as he descended into the hallway. He could sense the fear and desperation of not only the auxiliaries, but the children in their proximity. Optimism aside, he knew this situation would swiftly devolve. Until the others devised a tactical plan, he waited.
Aiman held a small camera from his suit just an inch into the open hatch to see his own view of the killzone. Shooters set up in buddy pairs, occupying multiple stories and covering the avenues of approach. "Their fire is ineffective!" The Celvian transmitted to Tassou, "Lay some heavy guns here and get an element to ride a corridor to their flank. We gotta keep the pressure up or we'll get stuck here!"
--
Going straight into the fight and pushing the offensive will not allow for a proper counter attack and keep the High Imperium forces occupied, tied up and away from the objective at hand in needing to capture the command segment of the vessel first and foremost. Firstly however, that hallway needed to be cleared.
In any other situation Tassou thought this would be a quick and easy job, send a pair of robots around the corner to fire grenades into the defenders posistions to flush them out. But as all things needed to be difficult with the Imp's they were using human meatshields, Aiman was right, a different approach was right.
"Couldn't agree more. Units 04 through 07, lay out supressive fire. Keep it controlled and on target, no crossfire."
Tassou stated out voice commands over the intercomm to the robots as they began to spread out and check the other hallways for security threats. Four of them stepped out into the covered hallway and the Auxiliaries fire with little concern for the bullets flying around them and the poor trigger discipline, and over the scrap of the small aerial drone from before. Two of them raised grenade launchers and fired simple visual smoke up into the rafters while the last pair fired their automatic rifles at the heat signatures and posistions of the auxiliaries to keep their heads down.
With a quick gesture Tassou motioned for two of his other squadmates and Aiman to follow, they were going around the side tunnels that ran parralel to the main hallway, it was a tight fit but a willing choice to make to keep up the momentum in this section of the ship.
"Hope you don't mind tight spaces, eye Aiman? We're going around the side and them out."
--
The cameras updated, and the dreft made a face as he went over the ship plans. They'd brought robots. Of course they'd brought robots. Well fuck them, then. Grinning, Hevroth hit a key and then leaned back. Fuck them very much...
---
As the Kepler drones came bursting in on the soldiers at the airlock, the soldiers turned, fumbling for their guns and firing wildly at the robots. Screams filled the air as bullets richoted around the space, some of them hitting the civilians. Short bursts from the bots put the lackeys down, but then there was a clank, a whirr, and a hiss. And then there was the roar of decompression as the airlock opened seemingly on its own, sucking the drones and the civilians into vacuum, before sealing shut again.
On the bridge, Hevroth smiled grimly. No heroes here. Not today.
---
Back at the junction, the soldiers continued to frantically call for support, even as the enemy opened fire. The boarders had meant it as suppressive fire, but between the already rattled state of the levy troopers and their loss of heart at the lack of reinforcements, half of them bolted for it and promptly were shot down. Panicked, one of the survivors tossed his gun out from behind his makeshift barricade, calling out. "I surrender! Please, Star and Shadow have mercy, I surrender!". Less than a minute later, the others followed suit, leaving a clear path through the intersection.
---
Further down the main corridor, Optio Parthes frowned at his display, then turned to the levy commander. "Seriously? I know your men aren't exactly crack death squads, but that was..." He found himself shaking his head. The commander shrugged. "You did tell me to send my worst to hold that junction. Weed out the weak and so on. Frankly, we're lucky they were even there when the commie bastards got there, instead of just cowering in a corner."
"Hmmm...Still not impressed."
"Fair enough, no argument." They both looked up to where the Legionnaires were working with the levy soldiers to set up the last few turrets and then take their positions. While the crossfire area had been a suicide mission, this position was required to hold at all costs, and was ideally suited to do so, situated as it was at the start of a tram line that ran through several kilometers of cargo holds open to vacuum. Further back, the high pitched whine of the mag-train rose in pitch as it arrived, carrying their heavy support element.
--
Aiman took the point position, able to dexterously maneuver his way through tight quarters by virtue of his small physical stature. He kept his attention to the front, rifle tucked under the crook of his upper arms at the ready, muzzle to the front and prepared to level anything that appeared before him. At the same time, he was monitoring and cycling through the multiple video feeds in his wide field of vision.
“Fuck,” The Celvian cursed, not missing a step, “They got their hands up Tassou. We ain’t got time fer this shite.”
Aiman should have guessed the detail; they would either have probed the boarding teams with their most experienced fighters or, as they did, with their absolute worst fighters to see what they brought to the fight. To Aiman, it read to him that the enemy commander was either ten steps ahead, or a total fool playing it by ear. Both possibilities bore potential for disaster.
The service halls brought them into the advantageous position they were searching for. The issue was they no longer needed the advantage here; the only thing left of the would-be defenders were a handful of unarmed, wide-eyed young adults. The Celvian exited their flanking corridor into a covered position, raising his rifle to the first man up front.
They had not brought detainee handling teams, they could not lose their operational momentum and kill time, nor could they simply pass the levies by in hopes they wouldn’t regain their resolve or find ways to fuck them up later. Aiman made the executive decision, wordlessly opening fire on them in rapid pairs.
-
Barret began to walk brusquely, not able to fit comfortably in the same tight space as the others with his projected shield and energy polearm fired up. The massive crossfire was mostly gone, and his shield and armor were ready to serve him well regardless. He could feel the terror and fury among those in his proximity. Further off, growing larger by the moment, he could feel the danger looming over him.
“Marines, prepare something heavy,” Barret remarked over the operational net. He knew the sensation of an armor crew and shock troops very well, even after numerous years, “They were simply reconnoitering us.”
--
Aiman was right, and it conformed along with the objectives of this mission. They did not have the space or ability to reliably take prisoners without slowing down everything, time was the objective. The airmarine squad clearing the corner with Aiman came across the surrendering Imperial levies that were posing minor, albeit important resistance for them earlier.
“This is the part of the job I hate”
Tassou kept his carbine raised and along with Aiman held down the trigger.
Down in the service halls, six shots were heard echoing throughout the empty space as the robots before Tassou came back to link up with the rest of them and the robots were fanning out, clearing the now empty intersection with the bodies of the surrendering imperial levies. It was one of the cruel realities of this mission, despite prisoner taking being a normality, now did not allow for it in any sense of the word.
Currently the small drones flying throughout the ship confirmed what Barret just said, some heavy enemy reinforcements were on their way now. Legionaries and more levies by the looks of things were closing in on them.
“Original plan of splitting up to cover both the bridge and the weapon in the cargo bay is scrubbed. Hostile reinforcements are on their way, spread out and take cover.”
Tassou said over the radio, himself and his squad broke up in the long hallway and took cover behind doorways and whatever else they could find with rifles raised. The robots were what carried the heavier guns, heavy machine guns and rocket launchers, they also spread out a good deal to provide pinpoint covering fire against the coming onslaught. For now the only sound was the whir of electric motors and the sound down the hallway of a coming force.
Aiman was right, and it conformed along with the objectives of this mission. They did not have the space or ability to reliably take prisoners without slowing down everything, time was the objective. The airmarine squad clearing the corner with Aiman came across the surrendering Imperial levies that were posing minor, albeit important resistance for them earlier.
“This is the part of the job I hate”
Tassou kept his carbine raised and along with Aiman held down the trigger.
Down in the service halls, six shots were heard echoing throughout the empty space as the robots before Tassou came back to link up with the rest of them and the robots were fanning out, clearing the now empty intersection with the bodies of the surrendering imperial levies. It was one of the cruel realities of this mission, despite prisoner taking being a normality, now did not allow for it in any sense of the word.
Currently the small drones flying throughout the ship confirmed what Barret just said, some heavy enemy reinforcements were on their way now. Legionaries and more levies by the looks of things were closing in on them.
“Original plan of splitting up to cover both the bridge and the weapon in the cargo bay is scrubbed. Hostile reinforcements are on their way, spread out and take cover.”
Tassou said over the radio, himself and his squad broke up in the long hallway and took cover behind doorways and whatever else they could find with rifles raised. The robots were what carried the heavier guns, heavy machine guns and rocket launchers, they also spread out a good deal to provide pinpoint covering fire against the coming onslaught. For now the only sound was the whir of electric motors and the sound down the hallway of a coming force.
--
From the bridge, Hevroth issued orders briskly, while setting up programs linked to the camera systems to vent the outer hull airlocks if the boarders tried to slip around the defenses. On the upper level, troopers hustled down the main concourse, hurrying to set mines and disable the lift. The fewer access point the attackers could make use of, the better.
---
At the second lift, the Optio flicked through layers on the ship's schematics, frowning as he did. The second lift would disabled any minute now, but he was still in a vulnerable situation. The maze of service corridors and access points on this junk heap was astounding, and it would be far too easy for the enemy to slip around hit him in the rear, then force their way to the lift, and from there proceed to the bridge.
Sighing, he detailed several units to split off into the surroundings to scout and give advance warning. From the lift, there was a whine as the platform settled down and the gleaming white thing on it uncurled and stood up. He shuddered in horror as it glided forward. Just because they needed it didn't make enthusiastic about having it. Shaking his head, he turned back to the display and issued orders for about 20 of the levies to advance down the main corridor, with a Legion squad supporting.
--
Aiman kept tight to the bulkhead, keeping with the vanguard of the squad as they mad their advance. From his gauntlet, he activated a release mechanism that let loose dozens of miniature crawling drones from various ports on his armor. These quarter-sized drones scurried from his armor, scurrying off into the nooks and crannies of the service corridors and ventilation system with haste. A video downlink with his suit showed maps and feeds from his robotic scouts as they collected information.
Some of the side hatches had malfunctioned, denying them full maneuverability but still plenty of breathing room.
"They're moving on us, Tassou. Thirty-plus advancing, aft to stern," Aiman spoke as he ran; legs moving twice as fast to keep up with the much taller men, "Something's coming off of Lift Two-Seven. Big equipment. Can't ID."
--
concluded in journal