Author: Johannes "Jergen[K]" Cruz			Viewing: Chapter 15

“Engines full burn, weapons free!” Captain Knight strapped himself into his gravity couch and watched the incoming ship on his forward scanner. Respite shuddered as she loosed a volley from her upper Gauss Cannons. The weapons, huge magnets that would produce a massive electromagnetic field to push high density projectiles at hypervelocity, were the most dangerous close range tools ever devised. Shadow Dragon easily evaded the incoming fire, deftly coming alongside Respite. Once in place gunners launched magnetic grapples, bringing the ships together with a jarring impact. Seconds later the ship’s raiders began cutting though the airlock entrances to the Respite. “General Quarters, full alert. Arm yourselves and seal the bridge.” With this Captain Knight made a show of chambering a round into his service sidearm. Doctor Stewart, stunned by the suddenness of the attack, snapped out of her reverie and began to leave the bridge. “Where are you going Doctor? This ship is going to be boarded soon and it wont be safe for you to be wandering the passageways, especially with pirates on board the Respite.” “I’m going to hold six. No matter what happens things are safer there than here and I wont have my specimen disturbed.” Evelyn looked at the Captain defiantly, but when it became apparent that she wasn’t going to back down he ordered the hatch unsealed for her. Running as fast as she could, Evelyn headed aft towards the hold. *** “Well, at least it looks like we’ll have something to do for the next few hours,” Johannes said after joining Ban at their post. “Is that Sally?” Ban asked, looking at the large carton Jergen was carrying with him. “Absolutely,” Johannes replied, setting down the carton and opening it. Sally Greer was the loving name both men used in reference to their M56A2 Smartgun. A heavy machinegun incorporating a motor and Infra Red sighting and targeting system, it was the most deadly weapon either men had. Once the weapon was unpacked from the crate Johannes helped Ban into the modified armor that the weapon would interface with. Containing the battery power as well as the electronics necessary to carry the IR imaging system from the weapons’ processor to the helmet Heads Up Display, the armor was as much a part of the weapon as was he ammunition it used. Once powered up the heavy gun moved easily along it’s support arm, waiting for a solid target, at which time it would actually move to engage the target with the assistance of the gunner. Although neither man favored the weapon it would be of great use considering that they were both outnumbered. “You feel clean brother?” Jergen asked, inquiring to the state of the gear they had strapped onto him. “Right as rain brother Jergen. It looks like you get to do what you do best now.” Ban smiled without humor. Wearing the weapon and IR gear made him look even more the monster. “I look forward to the conflict.” Jergen turned to go, looking back over his shoulder. “I’ll attack them when they breach, and let you know if they come this way.” “Good hunting Johannes.” “Honor to us all brother Ban.” Jergen was gone an instant later. Ban leaned back against the bulkhead to passageway six, the smartgun tracking lazily as his eyes scanned the corridor. *** Had Doctor Stewart been any slower she would have been killed. The pirates managed to breach the airlocks of Respite milliseconds after Evelyn passed the hatch. The doors, two feet thick and formed of reinforced armor and plasteel moved with such force they smashed through the opposing bulkhead and into the next chambers alongside the passageway. Evelyn was thrown from her feet, stunning herself as her forehead struck the deck of Respite. Lying in a daze she looked up just in time to see the first raiders come through the breach and into her ship. Fear crawled up through her groin, lodging in her stomach when she saw them. Try as she might she could not regain her feet. Her head throbbed, causing her vision to blur with every movement. Three of the attackers noticed her, and instantly moved to make a grab for her. The first man nearly exploded as the rounds from Johannes’ rifle caught him in his unprotected chest and flung him back into the other two. The pair of men following the first stumbled as their comrade was painted across their chests and faces by the concussive blast. Evelyn screamed. Weapons fire sizzled through the air above Evelyn as she tried to crawl down the passageway with little success. Having fired on the first attacker Jergen had simply disappeared. In the smoke and confusion of the passageway none of the raiders had been successful in locating him. Further down the passageway the second airlock blew free. Evelyn again fought to stand, but thought better of it as the men around her were not paying attention to her as she lay on the deck, but if she were to stand the situation could change dangerously. She saw nearly two dozen men break loose from the breach and head straight towards hold six. Helplessly she wondered if Ban could hold them off. Now there were six men around the breach in the hull near Evelyn. Although they had not moved into the ship to make another grab at her they were keeping an eye on her. They had yet to see the one that had attacked them and were not exactly enthusiastic about mounting another charge into sniper fire. Pulse rifle fire barked again and another raider went down holding his throat. Blood, flowing from ruptured arteries, exploded outward in a crimson fan. Before the man could even gurgle a scream he was dead and hitting the deck. The remaining raiders quickly moved to storm the ship, wanting no more of these attacks. This is exactly what Jergen had needed them to do. Moving under him as he waited in the ships ventilation system, every attacker was vulnerable to him. He would have to make his choices carefully though, as once he attacked from this vantage point he would be vulnerable to their fire. Since there were still five of them it was important that he not make a fatal mistake. Reaching into his butt pack he removed a flare and pulled the pin. The men split into two groups, one moving forward and the other moving slowly aft down the passageway towards the now unconscious Doctor. Although he may deem it sentimental later, Johannes decided to watch out for the helpless Evelyn. Although he wasn’t much of a religious sort it wasn’t right to allow any person to be assaulted when they could not defend themselves. Flipping the safety off of the flare he smashed the end of it into his boot and crushed the phosphorus core to dust. The result would be an instant shock of caustic white smoke instead of the intended light source. This completed, he rolled the flare down the shaft in front of him to where it would drop down just in front of the moving group. Just as the flare exploded in a white cloud of harsh smoke Jergen dropped down behind the group. Slinging his rifle as he fell he had drawn his fighting knife and pistol. Slipping behind the closest attacker he thrust the blade into the base of the man’s spine, killing him instantly. The raider closest could not see what was going on, but whirled to the sounds of motion behind him. This proved his undoing as the knife blade entered the front of his throat, then twisted to the right and tore free of his now shredded throat. The last attacker hurled himself at Jergen, firing his pistol at him as he did so. Jergen’s armor easily absorbed the blow, allowing him to close and grab the man’s wrist. With a quick twist the man’s arm and wrist broke. Yelling, the raider dropped to his knees screaming. Calmly, as if in a choreographed play, Jergen inserted his pistol in the man’s mouth and blew the back of his head free. Turning, Johannes easily lifted Evelyn onto his shoulders. Quickly finding the vent access to the ship he deposited the small woman inside where he hoped she would be safe. *** Ban fired a short burst into the first pair of men that came around the corner. The loud staccato of the smart gun rolled like thunder as the pair of men engaged were cut in half at the middle. Both didn’t have time to scream before they died. The raiders fell back, then assaulted Ban by swinging their small arms around the corner and firing blindly. Frighteningly enough this tactic was very effective because Ban had no cover or anywhere to go. Franticly he popped the hatch to bay six and stepped inside the dark chamber to dodge their fire. After the small arms attack the men then rolled grenades down the tunnel. Ban slapped the access panel and closed the hatch before the explosives went off, but still was knocked off his feet by the concussion. Seconds later the sounds of a portable welder could be heard. Ban watched as the small access panel turned white from the heat of the welder being used against it. He turned and sought cover deeper inside the chamber. The door to bay six slid up as the locks were compromised by the portable welder. Immediately six men entered the room and began to spread out. One of them disappeared in a spray as Ban got a lock on him and fired. The other five looked blindly for him, firing where they had seen the muzzle flash and hitting nothing. Ban took another shot at a partially exposed raider, sawing off his leg at the knee, then finishing him as he hit the deck and exposed himself. The four remaining men began to move deeper into the room. Each of them wore shoulder mounted torches, and were quickly removing any concealment Ban had hoped to find in the dark chamber. Bay six was mostly empty, and aside from the abnormally sized cryostasis chamber, their was almost no cover. Ban decided any cover was better than none and moved near the Queen’s cryotube. Cautious now, the four raiders moved up in formation. These few were better armed than the rest with pulse rifles, but luckily did not have the image intensifiers that would have enabled them to spot their quarry much sooner. Mekhazzio had been sure that the ship wouldn’t have any armed men aboard, and had thus allowed the attack to commence even though he didn’t have enough men to take a normally complimented Frigate. Now they were facing what appeared to be a Colonial Marine with a friggin smart gun. They were not exactly enthused. Ban squeezed off a burst into one of the flanking men. The shots caught the man in the chest and gut, blowing him off his feet and sending him crashing into the bulkhead where his skull shattered with a sick crunch. The other three men fired into Ban’s position, all the while falling back. Ban, seeing an opportunity, stepped out to the opposite flank and opened fire with a long burst. The rounds caught all three men, blowing legs and arms from each of them. The raiders screamed from the impacts, clutching at horrendous wounds and crying. Each man had been hit numerous times about their bodies and was going into shock almost instantly. Ban simply looked on as he leveled the weapon at them and loosed a long volley. The last two raiders didn’t see the silent death that dropped down behind them in the passageway. Since the quick demise of their friends the men had decided to fall back into passage six and try to make it back to the ship. Johannes had other ideas. He easily slit the throat of the man on the right, but could not grab the one of the left fast enough before he ran, screaming, into the hold. Franticly the raider pulled at the safety release of his only weapon, a high explosive grenade. Dutifully Ban took aim and fired at the target that presented itself, killing the man instantly, but not before the grenade left his nearly limp fingers and landed near the outlandish stasis chamber. The resulting explosion took Ban off of his feet, depositing him in a heap near the hatch. Looking up, he caught sight of Jergen standing above him. Blood dripped down the man’s armor and face, pooling about his feet and the dead raider nearby, a macabre paint splashed everywhere. Shaking his head Ban sat up and looked into the chamber. His eyes grew wide at what he saw there. *** The few men that had made it to the bridge had been quickly subdued, and before the Shadow Dragon could break free of Respite she had been boarded by a very angry Johannes Cruz and Ban. The men had quickly killed or subdued anyone they had found, and brought the captain of the vessel back with them. Surprisingly young, the pirate captain didn’t seem phased by the failure of his recent attack. He simply stood with a smug look on his face as he was questioned. Captain Knight hadn’t gotten very far with the man, and decided to have him locked in one of the infirmary rooms for the time being. Evelyn was fine, regaining consciousness shortly after the attack. She had been downcast when Ban had taken her to the stasis chamber, but she was recovering from the shock of the attack. “What is the status of the cargo Doctor?” Captain Knight asked. “It was damaged from the grenade attack, but the Xenomorph is alive and stable. It is, however, only a matter of time before the stasis field fails and she regains consciousness.” “I see. How long?” “Six weeks at the longest Captain.” With this Evelyn looked at the two marines and tried to smile. “We can’t make that. It seems we will need a faster ship.” Captain Knight turned to the marines. “Thank you men for saving the ship, we owe you a debt of gratitude. I shall personally commend you and ensure that you are properly awarded for your heroism.” Both Ban and Johannes saluted. “Please bring the prisoner to the bridge gentlemen.” With this the Captain turned to speak with the Doctor once more. *** Ban and Johannes escorted the prisoner to the bridge in silence. Mekhazzio had been somewhat friendly when they had come to gather him, only falling silent when he realized they were not forthcoming with any words of their own. Soon all three men were on the bridge. “We are taking your ship Pirate. You will pilot her to our destination with our ship following as fast as able. These men,” he indicated the marines. “Will accompany you as well as enough of my crew to help you with the necessary hands. We will begin transfer of our cargo immediately.” With this Captain Knight turned away from the man and strode to his chair to sit. “I wont pilot for you Captain,” Mekhazzio said with a slight smile. “You may have noticed, but I’m not Navy and have no intentions of being so.” “I wasn’t asking.” Knight responded. “You pilot the ship or I execute you and pilot her myself.” “You will execute me regardless.” Mekhazzio retorted. Both Jergen and Ban smiled at that prospect. “That is not for me to decide. I am sure the UEG courts will take it into consideration that you aided us in completing a delicate mission even when captured.” Mekhazzio snorted. “I’d rather die.” In a flash Jergen had his pistol out of it’s holster and shoved so far down the man’s throat his eyes actually bugged out of his head some. “In that case,” Jergen whispered. “Release him Corporal!” Captain Knight was out of his chair in an instant. “This is not a battlefield and we will not have guardroom justice on my ship!” Jergen stepped back, using Mekhazzio’s garish silk shirt to whipe his sidearm free of saliva. Mekhazzio coughed some, doubling over and fighting not to puke from the intrusion in his throat. When he had control of himself he spoke: “You have need of me so I will set a price.” “The price is your life pirate,” the Captain spat. “I go free and you pay me duty as any freighter would get.” Mekhazzio made a show of massaging his throat and looking at Johannes with death in his eyes. “Hurts doesn’t it?” Jergen said softly, smiling. “Enough of this, you are dismissed Corporal!” The Captain glared at the short marine as he spoke. Saluting, Jergen turned and left the room, smiling at Mekhazzio over his shoulder he whispered: “Someday.” While patting his holster. “I will promise you amnesty, but that is all. When you reach port I’ll let you run for a few days and be slow about getting around to your capture. If not, you bunk with Johannes tonight.” Mekhazzio thought for a moment then nodded. “I will need two men.” “Done.” Captain Knight turned to his bridge crew. “Get your gear and follow the pirate. Ban, you are security, if he twitches kill him.” “Aye aye sir.” Ban said as he followed Mekhazzio out of the room. “Would your friend have shot me?” He asked when they were off the bridge. “I’m surprised he didn’t.” Ban said, falling silent to any other questions from the man.