《Dauntless Midnight》


 Rolling Thunder

    <h2>Rolling Thunder</h2>


    The United Colonial Defense Force Rolling Thunder sat in complete darkness. It clung to an asteroid drifting in a lazy orbit, dull gray metal blending in with the rock¡¯s surface. The bulky UCDF cargo transport had been in its hiding spot for the better part of the past week while its small crew of five worked tirelessly. Moving in an asteroid field without having previously planned trajectories and rock rotations was dangerous, but in Captain Meisha Al-Jihlani¡¯s eyes,the close calls were worth the risk.


    The Rolling Thunder had been hauling its normal payload of planetary defense cannons, mining equipment, and starship fuel for an outer rim colony. Nearing the end of their scheduled flight, they had received news via instant communications that a pirate flotilla had raided a colony not too far away from their flight trajectory. Reports said that the pirates, armed with four civil war era destroyers and two battleships, had burned half of the colony Harmony in nuclear fire before the colonists had submitted to their demands.


    The death toll was massive, and the raid had been labeled one of the largest terrorist attacks in centuries. Besides those killed in the bombardment, millions of tons of minerals had been taken, as well as thousands of people who would fetch a high price on the black market slave trade. This flotilla had turned towards the Rolling Thunder afterward and had been burning fast since.


    Pirates were common this far from Sol, commonly hitting outer colonies who lacked defense cannons and would escape into the void before UCDF forces could retaliate. Patrols and fleets were sent through to fly patterns around the high value colonies; but naval ships were expensive and Earth and its sister colonies could only provide so many to defend their distant relatives. The pirate fleets, even with their outdated ships, had been able to avoid any major fights with the vastly superior UCDF fleets.


    Meisha¡¯s crew had sent out the SOS as soon as they knew the pirates were getting close. Her navigator, Juliette Quacita, had been emphatic that they needed support as soon as possible. She begged the UCDF to send reinforcements. To the pirates, it was a payday that was too rich to miss, and the Rolling Thunder¡¯s high tech scanners had confirmed that the only ships in the sector were the pirates.


    Captain Al-Jihlani and her crew didn¡¯t have much they could use to fight. The heavy transport ship was built for hauling thousands of tons of cargo, not intense combat. Its small point-defense turrets, meant for shooting down incoming missiles and debris, were no match for the sheer volume of cannon and torpedo fire the pirate flotilla could dish out. If the pirates caught them out in the open, the Rolling Thunder would be turned into a debris field within a matter of seconds.


    Meisha personally had never seen combat. She had graduated at the top of her class in the academy only recently, but had a fire in her that not many other captains possessed. Her crew, likewise, were strong people and had faith that their plan would work. They had voted on it over dinner one night knowing that if they followed through, they would be disobeying orders from the Admiralty. If they did nothing, the pirates would continue to terrorize the colonies, and thousands more lives would be destroyed.


    ¡°Do we really want to go through with this?¡± Meisha asked herself as she stared into the radar screen in front of her. She studied the red shapes of the pirates inch nearer to her little blue dot, inching closer to the weak transport.


    The bridge of the Rolling Thunder was almost pitch black, with only the lights from data readouts painting the crew¡¯s faces in gentle shades of green and blue. Their breath formed clouds of vapor in the cool air as the ship worked to lower the transport¡¯s heat signature and render them undetectable. Even in the frigid air, Meisha was sweating. She wasn¡¯t scared, but waiting had always made her jumpy.


    They had to be lucky. If the pirates caught on or detected them early, it would be over. The Rolling Thunder would be destroyed in seconds; atomized before it could even fire up its reactors. Their timing had to be perfect and their execution instant. No room for hesitation or doubt. In the vacuum, even with meters of heavy armor plating and bulwarks to keep precious oxygen inside, a single well placed shot could kill them in seconds.


    Meisha pushed her thoughts of timing and execution aside and adjusted her military cap, brushing her dark hair out of her eyes. It didn¡¯t matter how nervous she was. If they failed, more people would die. This was a lucky opportunity, and she wouldn¡¯t let it slip through her fingers. The captain turned to look at her Data Analyst.¡°How are we looking, Aymer?¡± she murmured, as if to speak any louder would alert the enemy.


    ¡°As good as we could be given the circumstances.¡± The grizzled analyst responded. ¡°SOS beacon is still pinging away and we¡¯re still on the opposite side of the rock from the enemy approach vector.¡±


    Meisha nodded, running down her mental checklist of the plan one more time. ¡°And we¡¯re anchored?¡± She asked, glancing at the ship¡¯s head engineer.


    Kamir gave a quiet chuckle. ¡°I sure hope so, I used all the supports we were hauling. If that''s not enough to hold us and the guns to this rock, then I don¡¯t know what else will.¡±


    ¡°Range?¡±


    ¡°ETA two minutes until they¡¯re in the hole.¡± Weapons Specialist Amade reported. The tiny lady flicked from screen to screen, checking on their weapon and ammunition status. ¡°You should be ready soon.¡±


    As Meisha ran down her checklist, the red threat outlines of the pirates drew nearer. As far as space combat went, this was going to be much closer than standard doctrine. A normal battle would take place thousands of miles apart, with starships firing cannons based on advanced imaging and sensor packages alone. It was rare to spy another ship with the naked eye. This battle would take place in the tens of miles. It was suicidal.


    ¡°Today we are sending a message.¡± Meisha growled. ¡°Pirates are going to be a lot more cautious when they hear about one ship wasting a whole flotilla.¡± She donned her headset and visor, blinking a few times as her eyes adjusted to the captain¡¯s overlay. The screens of her crew appeared on the top of her vision, allowing her to enlarge one with the movement of her eyes. The ship¡¯s general status and condition filled the rest of her view, leaving a small window to see her own screen. To an untrained individual, it would have been data overload. To Meisha, it was comforting.


    ¡°They¡¯re in range, cap.¡± Quacita said from the pilot¡¯s chair. ¡°Want me to open a broadcast channel for you?¡±


    ¡°Do it. Give me visuals on them as well.¡± Meisha ordered, her voice more steady than she felt.


    Her screen filled up with an image from one of the Rolling Thunder¡¯s exterior cameras. The situation was grim. Four small gray ships; hulls pocket marked with carbon scorching and small dents escorted two massive ships in similar condition. Each one boasted an impressive armament of cannons, torpedo launchers, missile batteries and point defense turrets. They were older and in poor condition, but they could still fire. The massive battleships shoved asteroids out of their path, creating more instability in the field of rocks. They were hunting for their prey, homing in on the SOS of the Rolling Thunder.


    Meisha cleared her throat and keyed open the comms channels for their local group. ¡°Attention Pirate flotilla, this is Captain Meisha Al-Jihlani of the UCDF Rolling Thunder. I¡¯m offering you a chance to surrender. If you do not agree to power your reactors down and allow us to lock down your ships, we will engage and use whatever force we deem necessary to make you comply. Am I understood?¡±


    She didn¡¯t expect the pirates to respond, but one did. ¡°Rolling Thunder¡­ net shows that you¡¯re just a transport. What are you trying to do here? We have six thousand hostages onboard we nabbed from Harmony. You shoot at us, they die. How about you turn yourself in to us or we gut our prisoners.¡±


    ¡°Collateral Damage. If their sacrifice means I can turn you into dust, then it is what it is. Consequences be damned.¡± Meisha said calmly, hoping the pirates would buy her bluff.


    ¡°Cap, are you sure they have the civvies on the second battleship?¡± Aymer asked. ¡°We can¡¯t mess this one up.¡±


    ¡°It''s their oldest ship, and most damaged. Less effective electronic countermeasures, less weapons. Notice how it''s hanging in the back of the flotilla? They have to be there.¡± Meisha replied. News footage taken from the devastation on Harmony had only shown one ship landing on the planet while the rest used shuttles or rained fire from orbit. The older battleship had to be the prisoner ship. If she was wrong¡­.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    They were wasting time. For this to work, the Rolling Thunder¡¯s execution had to be perfect. ¡°I take this as your refusal to surrender.¡± She snapped back over the comms, before closing the channel. ¡°Amade, are they in the hole?¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am, right in the center. Any more stalling and they would have drifted past.¡±


    ¡°Perfect.¡± Meisha took a deep breath to steady her nerves. ¡° Let''s stay focused. Aymer, ping em.¡±


    In mining and resource exploration, ¡®pinging¡¯ was the act of using a mining probe to send out energy waves in all directions to reflect off rocky surfaces and map out a three dimensional path of the cave or asteroid. This process could greatly affect a starship¡¯s targeting data if the probes didn¡¯t report their information back. It just so happened that part of the Rolling Thunder¡¯s delivery included five hundred of these drones. They had been arranged in a rough sphere around Meisha¡¯s chosen battle space, and all at once they started pinging.


    The pirate flotilla lost everything but visual targeting as each drone bounced multiple energy waves off their hulls and sensors, overloading electronic eyes and filling their aging supercomputers with millions of zettabytes worth of junk data.


    ¡°Burn them.¡± Meisha growled. At once the dark interior of the Rolling Thunder brightened with red combat lighting as the ship¡¯s massive fusion reactor rumbled to life. Its thrusters fired on full blast, pushing it forward and in turn rotating the asteroid that it was anchored to. The two gigantic planetary defense cannons that had been installed on the opposite side of the asteroid crested the horizon and came into view of the flotilla, already online.


    The data from the mining probes was fed directly into their targeting systems, painting a perfect picture of the ships. The cameras of the Rolling Thunder dimmed to protect its crew¡¯s eyes as the four hundred foot long railguns accelerated their massive titanium slugs to half the speed of light. The recoil of these two shots spun the asteroid, and the Rolling Thunder¡¯s engines screamed as it tried to counteract the force of the big guns.


    The first two destroyers shattered like ice, vaporizing as the shells slammed into the bow of the ships before detonating their nuclear warheads in the center. Debris exploded and riddled the surrounding ships, damaging hull plating and sensors. A secondary explosion from one of the destroyer''s older nuclear reactors superheated the asteroids nearby, causing them to glow bright red and further confuse the now panicking pirate¡¯s targeting.


    The lead battleship had seen where the first shots had been fired from however, and turned its weapons to the now fast moving asteroid that Meisha and her crew were attached to. Its cannons shook, sending a steel swarm into the rock and knocking the asteroid¡¯s path off course.


    ¡°Adame, how long until those guns fire again?¡±


    ¡°About a minute longer for the railguns to charge up, ma¡¯am.¡± The weapons officer responded.


    Kamir flicked his view to Meisha¡¯s terminal. ¡°Captain, the rock can¡¯t take another hit like that. It''s shaking loose and the stress from our anchoring is going to tear it apart.¡±


    ¡°They can¡¯t target us electronically but they have us visually.¡± Aymer warned. ¡°If they throw enough at us at once, it won¡¯t matter.¡± As if reading his mind, the pirate vessels opened fire with everything they had at the little asteroid. Torpedoes, hundreds of thousands of bullets and cannon shells all flew in a cloud of silver in the direction of the Rolling Thunder. The pirates began to distance their ships while their ambusher was pinned, burning forward to try and flank the brash UCDF captain.


    Meisha had counted on it. The starship fuel they were hauling had been left drifting among the clutter of the asteroid field. With some delicate work from Kamir and a few mining charges, they had been repurposed into fusion bombs, which triggered at this moment. The fuel exploded, vaporizing nearby rock and sending shockwaves and debris into the pirate ships. It didn¡¯t do much damage, as the thick armor of the aging civil war ships had been built to withstand much more efficient atomic blasts. But it did disrupt their movement and buy the Rolling Thunder time to change its position..


    Meisha was running out of tricks. ¡°Amade, where are those guns?¡±


    ¡°Charged ma¡¯am and waiting for the asteroid to level for target acquisition. Who are we aiming at?¡±


    ¡°The last two destroyers. Faster ships with more guns, I want them gone. Quacita, level us now so Amade can fire these shots. If we wait, we''re dead.¡±


    ¡°Aye Cap, leveling now.¡± The Rolling Thunder jerked as its inertial drives fought to reduce the extreme pressure of the ship¡¯s sudden change. The Asteroid shook again as the defense cannons fired a second time, obliterating the final two destroyers and leaving them in a field of debris. The two battleships fired another massive salvo in retaliation, sending another wave of steel shrieking towards the transport. It was time to go.


    ¡°Kamir, let us loose.¡± Meisha ordered. Within an instant, the tethers lashing the Rolling Thunder to the asteroid detached and the ship shot forward, free from its burden of moving the tons of rock. The cannons would be destroyed, but it took another wave of punishment away from the UCDF crew. However, they had to ditch it faster than Meisha expected. She was out of tricks. Two battleships against a transport were better than six, but not any more survivable. Unless¡­


    ¡°Quacita, maneuver us as close to the lead battleship as possible. Right over their reactor placement. Amade, spin up our PDTs. They can only target visually, so either they shoot and hit themselves, or we drill through their armor and into their reactor.¡±


    The Rolling Thunder promptly reacted to its captain¡¯s orders, flying towards the battleships and weaving in between cannon fire and torpedoes. Smaller caliber bullets bounced off their hull and alert sirens began to blair. They had a hull breach.


    ¡°Kamir? Where is it?¡±


    ¡°Maintenance bay 04, nothing critical. Sealing the bulkhead and letting it depressurize.¡± The alerts died down as the ship¡¯s systems determined nothing else was breached, and they continued to edge closer to the massive battleship. The larger ship tried to outmaneuver the smaller transport; but with its cargo gone and thrusters at full strength, the UCDF ship was more nimble. Quacita matched their movements with micro adjustments on her controls, and in an instant the ship¡¯s smaller point defense turrets spun up and began firing hundreds of rounds.


    The battleship''s aging armor broke after seconds of sustained fire, and the bullets drilled into the ship causing violent depressurizations and destroying subsystems as they reached further and further. Lights began to flicker across the battleship¡¯s hull as systems crashed. The wounded pirate ship tried to shake its mosquito off, but the transport stayed firmly matched with its movement. After a few more seconds, a shockwave rocked the Rolling Thunder.


    Amade spun to look at Meisha. ¡°That was a pulse from their reactor. It''s melting down!¡± As the weapon¡¯s officer spoke, escape shuttles began jettisoning from the battleship.


    ¡°Distance, Quacita, now!¡± Meisha shouted, and the ship burned away from the now drifting battleship not a moment too soon. The aft end of the pirate vessel exploded outward, leaving the front half leaking atmospheric vapor trails and sparking cables. The decompression would have killed anyone unlucky enough to be in a breached section. Enhancing, the cameras could see a few bodies drifting from what was left of the battleship; frozen in last second poses.


    Meisha opened the communications channel again, adrenaline coursing through her. ¡°Remaining pirate battleship, do you surrender?¡± She snarled. ¡°If not we¡¯ll burn you too, regardless of the civilians.¡±


    ¡°Holy hell yes we surrender!¡± A new panicked voice responded. ¡°We surrender, we¡¯re powering everything but life support down please hold fire!¡±


    Meisha leaned back, and sighed as she realized she had been holding her breath. Truth be told, if this final ship had resisted, she didn¡¯t know what she would do. Looking at her clenched hands, she relaxed them as her adrenaline began to wear off. It had all happened so fast. Looking back on it now, the whole idea seemed insane.


    ¡°I said we surrender! Please don¡¯t kill us, God damn it!¡± The pirate pleaded, his voice even more desperate than before.


    Meisha blinked a few times, and realized she hadn¡¯t responded yet. ¡°If I see so much as an engine flare or a rotation of a barrel, you¡¯re gone. And if you harm those civilians I know you have on board, you won¡¯t make it to the nearest UCDF compound. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°We understand, you won¡¯t see anything out of us and we won¡¯t mess with our prisoners.¡±


    Aymer glanced over at his captain, relief on his face. ¡°Captain, I count almost twenty new contacts that have entered the sector. They¡¯re still about ten hours away but are burning fast towards us. Requesting a secure channel through InstantComm. Want me to patch them through?¡±


    Meisha gave a nod, and opened up her quantum communications channel to hear a warm and friendly voice.


    ¡°Rolling Thunder? This is Admiral Fairweather. I¡¯m here with carrier battle group Denali. We received your call for aid against a pirate flotilla. How are you holding up?¡±


    ¡°Well Sir.¡± Meisha replied, grinning at her crew. ¡°We saved you a ship and a half. Could use your assistance with securing our prisoners and search and rescue for survivors. I think my crew and I need a break.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t lie, captain, I¡¯m very confused.¡± The admiral replied. ¡°We received an SOS from a transport ship, and here I am looking at a destroyed pirate flotilla and a blubbering prisoner ship.¡±


    ¡°It''s a long story, sir.¡±


    Fairweather chucked. ¡°I¡¯m sure it is. I¡¯d love to hear it as we escort you back to Earth. I¡¯m sure this will be one hell of a debrief.¡±

 Orders

    Meisha¡¯s eyes bolted open as Miriam, her older sister, jabbed her elbow into the captain¡¯s ribs. Blinking a few times, she looked around the room to see her young niece and nephew looking up at her from their bunk bed, with wide eyes.


    ¡°Right Meisha?¡± Miriam said while giving her a pointed look. ¡°You fought and beat twenty thousand pirates that day!¡±


    ¡°Aunt Meisha, is that true?¡± her nephew asked excitedly.


    The young space captain glanced at her sister and gave them a somewhat embarrassed smile, brushing her straight black hair away from her face. ¡°Your mom likes to exaggerate, kiddo. It really wasn¡¯t much of anything.¡±


    ¡°So you didn¡¯t blow up bad guys?¡±


    Meisha hesitated. ¡°No, I.. I mean yeah we did fight some pirates but it¡­ Hey, it''s past your bedtime isn¡¯t it?¡± She tucked in the kids and kissed them on their foreheads. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the pirates. Have good dreams ok?¡± She stepped out of the room and waited as Miriam finished putting her children to bed. As her older sister shut the door with a soft click, Meisha shook her head.


    ¡°You have to stop filling their heads with this sort of stuff, Miriam. The last thing they need to do is grow up with a starry eyed vision of what ship combat is. The kids don¡¯t need to think this sort of thing is all fun and games.¡±


    ¡°And it''s different when you talk about the battle at Deep Orbit, when you¡¯re surrounded by strangers?¡± Miriam said with a teasing smile on her face.


    Meisha rubbed her eyes, waking herself up. ¡°Yeah well those strangers offer to buy me drinks after I tell them. I don¡¯t think the kids can do that yet.¡±


    ¡°It''s a big deal for them to have a cool aunt.¡± Miriam said as the two sisters walked through her apartment. ¡°They almost never see you and they don¡¯t have any other family since dad passed. Now you¡¯re headlining in the news. First captain to win a space battle since the Colonial civil war. They look up to you.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know,¡± Meisha said with a yawn. She paused for a moment, shaking her head. ¡°God, the kids have gotten so big. Last time I saw them, they were knee-high.¡±


    ¡°So, why not let them think that you¡¯re a hero for a while, eh? The rest of the Republic already does.¡± Miriam moved to the kitchen, looking over at her husband. ¡°Rich, grab Meisha a drink, would you dear?¡±


    ¡°No thanks. I have fleet transport coming to pick me up soon and I¡¯m still fighting off the travel lag,¡± Meisha replied, taking her captain''s cap off a coat hanger by the home¡¯s entrance. ¡°I really do wish I could stay longer.¡±


    Rich handed a drink to Miriam and took a sip of his own. ¡°You¡¯ve been all over the newscasts for weeks now. Rumor is that they¡¯re going to give you the Fleet¡¯s Commendation of Courage award. I¡¯ve been bragging all about it to the lads and lasses in the shipyard.¡± He winked at Meisha. ¡°More than a few have asked me to set you up with them for dinner.¡±


    ¡°No, they aren¡¯t going to give me an award,¡± Meisha said. ¡°The Admiralty wants to debrief me again on the battle. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve been back on Earth in years. Probably just a routine checkup.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Pirates have been harassing a sector for about eighty years and a non-combat transport captain all but destroys them overnight. You¡¯re something of a hero.¡± Rich said with a laugh. ¡°If the Admiralty didn¡¯t give you the Fleet''s Commendation award, the public would riot.¡±


    ¡°I just put guns on a rock and told them to shoot the targets,¡± Meisha muttered.


    ¡°And that worked great, apparently.¡±


    The doorbell rang, flashing a blue light in the hallway. ¡°Looks like my ride''s here,¡± Meisha said, hugging her sister and brother-in-law and giving them a sad smile. ¡°Give the kiddos my love, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be receiving a new assignment after this.¡±


    Miriam and Rich followed her out of the apartment and onto the landing platform, the noise of the megacity piercing the quiet peace of their home.


    Evening was falling over the city. The sun¡¯s golden light reflected off the steel landscape, casting a warm glow into the lower layers of the city as the inky blue of night started to set towards the top. Lights glowed over buildings that stood miles tall, and the sky traffic zoomed past every which way.


    Up above, high in the sky, silver tails from hundreds of starships entering and exiting orbit could be seen. Every few minutes, a massive blue flash from an orbital Starshot cannon illuminated the city as one supercharged a ship¡¯s drive and fired them to the other end of the galaxy. Meisha shook her head. The Starshots were modern day miracles. She didn¡¯t know the details of how they functioned, but she was enthralled with them all the same.


    On the apartment¡¯s landing platform sat a silver and blue Fleet skycar. The UCDF insignia on its side identified it as part of Earth¡¯s primary defense force. A man in a similarly colored peacoat stood next to the skycar, a high admiral¡¯s cap on his head and an old fashioned pipe sticking out of a well-kept gray beard. He gave a friendly wave as Meisha approached.


    ¡°Captain Al-Jihlani, I know for a fact that the Fleet pays you enough to afford a hotel, but you still crash at your sister¡¯s place?¡± He said with mischief in his eyes.


    ¡°Trying to save up for early retirement, admiral,¡± Meisha said, saluting. The admiral gave a gruff laugh.


    ¡°As if you would ever let us pull you away from the stars, Captain. You and I both know that you prefer the freedom of space.¡± A big grin broke on his face. ¡°Damned, Meisha. It''s been a long while, how have you been?¡±


    Meisha gave a small smile, somewhat relieved that the person sent to retrieve her was her old mentor from the academy. ¡°I¡¯m doing as well as usual, Admiral Branson. How about you? I heard that you were retiring.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, some things have changed. No rest for the weary, eh? Speaking of which, are you ready to go get droned at by the Admiralty?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± She turned back to her family, giving them a wave and wishing them farewell before climbing into the skycar.


    As they rose into the air, Meisha glanced at Admiral Branson. ¡°Any idea what I¡¯m in for?¡±


    Branson stroked his beard, giving a small laugh. ¡°Honestly, no, Meisha. You have a bigger kill count than half of the fleet despite being a non-combat captain. You have more combat experience than most of our destroyers and battleships.¡±


    ¡°Sir, with all due respect to you and the council, I don¡¯t think you can call that battle combat experience. We got lucky. The pirates were used to the fleet not being around.¡± She thought about how quick the battle had been; how it was over minutes after the first round had been fired. She hadn¡¯t even considered the consequences of her actions after the victory. ¡°I ignored my delivery orders and got the drop on them.¡±


    ¡°Well, regardless, that''s still more real experience than anything else. The only threats we¡¯ve had the past hundred years are pirates, and we¡¯ve never been able to destroy a flotilla of them until you. That¡¯s caused a lot of movement in the high ranks of the Admiralty.¡±


    ¡°What, are they upset that I showed them up?¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯m sure some of them are.¡± Branson said with a laugh. ¡°A rookie captain has done in a few days what a lot of us wish we had been able to do. You¡¯ve become quite the target by bureaucrats and desk jockeys.¡±


    Meisha smiled, leaning back in her seat. ¡°So I take it they won¡¯t be giving me any commendation or award then, huh.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to spoil it,¡± Branson said. ¡°Soak in Earth while you can, it may be a while before you¡¯ll be back.¡±


    The skycar rose above the normal evening traffic, skimming along bright neon lights and rooftop gardens. After a short flight they slowed to a hover. The skycar landed at a massive pad next to a bustling complex, with colossal defense cannons scanning every incoming vehicle. On a black granite rock, etched in gold, were the letters UCDF - the United Colonial Defense Force.


    Formed over two hundred years ago at the end of a bitter civil war, the military force had kept things at peace throughout the Republic¡¯s colonies. Very few ever attempted to test it, and the few that did made a life out of piracy and running from the law. The Defense Force, and in turn its fleets, were the most formidable and unified fighting force humanity had ever created. ¡°Home again, home again,¡± Branson said, hopping out as they landed. ¡°This way, Captain. No need to keep the Admiralty waiting.¡±


    Meisha followed Admiral Branson to the gates of the facility, where teams of well armed guards in thick black REAPER power armor stood guard. They towered over the pair by at least two meters, and their golden visors reflected the image of Meisha and Branson perfectly. The quiet whine of motors could be heard as one approached them, its massive shredder autocannon holstered on his back. ¡°Welcome to fleet HQ, Admiral,¡± one said, his voice crackling through his suit¡¯s speakers. He nodded to Meisha. ¡°They¡¯re waiting for both of you inside, meeting room B. You¡¯ve been cleared for rushed security, I¡¯ll have two of my men escort you.¡±


    The duo was led through brightly lit hallways bustling with activity, being ushered past armed checkpoints every few meters. Ship departures were announced overheads they walked, citing a time and destination for that battlegroup''s launch. Meisha¡¯s heart lurched, hearing the name of her own transport ship, The Rolling Thunder. Its departure time was only 5 minutes away. She would never have enough time to make it from the Admiralty¡¯s meeting to the docks. This, Meisha assumed, was intentional. She stared at Branson. "That better not mean what I think it means¡­ You took away my command? I¡¯m not letting you stick me behind a desk."


    "It''s a good ship with a great crew, Meisha. But no, we didn''t clip your wings. No more questions please, save it for the Admiralty."


    Meisha gave a small huff of disapproval but continued following until they reached a conference room with several well armed soldiers standing outside. Both Meisha and Branson''s retinas were scanned to verify their identities before they were ushered in.


    Branson took his place among the twenty admirals sitting around a table. Each one was reviewing different hoploads showing data or reports, some of them in live time. The magic of quantum communications, Meisha thought.


    One of the guards directed Meisha to stand at the head of the table. Anxiety rising in her stomach, she stood at attention while the admirals finished conducting whatever private business they had. Directly across from her, an older man with piercing blue eyes and a white mustache glanced up from a report.


    "Welcome, Captain Al-Jihlani. Head admiral Vidaker. I wish I could say it was a pleasure. I hope we haven''t inconvenienced you by asking you to come."


    Meisha winced as she heard the ''Rolling Thunder, now departing'' call for her transport sound out across the intercom. "No sir," she said a bit hesitantly. "But I can''t help but notice that my ship has departed without me. Am I late?"


    Admiral Vidaker waved his hand dismissively. "We''ll discuss that in a bit. First thing''s first; we wanted to cover your last mission in detail. The report says that you "detected several unknown contacts entering the system, attempting to cloak with fake military IDs. Meisha ordered her pilot to hide in an asteroid cluster and turn off main power systems, while receiving updates on the recent pirate attack on Harmony, thus confirming that they were the wanted pirate vessels.¡±


    ¡°Upon discovering this, Meisha deployed the two surface-to-orbit nuclear-tipped titanium rod cannons and had her weapons officer sync them up to fire off her ship''s own weapon system while Meisha and the crew acted as the gunners. Meisha targeted the destroyers of the pirate ships and drew them in by sending out a fake SOS, opening fire once they were drawn into the asteroid field.


    Only one ship survived the encounter unscathed, and when the requested reinforcements showed up, most if not all of the enemy had already been disabled. Battlefield estimate is that 14,700 pirate crew members were killed, three thousand captured and six thousand civilians recovered. A solid victory.¡¯"


    Vidaker stopped reading the report and pushed a small pair of glasses up on his nose. ¡°Reports also say that you claimed not to care about the civilian lives, and risked the conflict. Is this correct, captain?¡±


    ¡°Eh, yes sir.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me what your original orders concerning the planetary defense cannons were?¡±


    Meisha blinked. ¡°Um, yes. Originally, my orders were to transport the planetary defense cannons from a foundry on Typhus to a new colony in the Atlantic sector¡­ A-19, I believe?¡±


    ¡°And when the pirates dropped into the sector, you deployed the planetary defense cannons instead of continuing your route.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir. And we destroyed them and saved the colonists from Harmony.¡±


    Vidaker glanced up and studied her as if she were a pest. ¡°So then you openly admit to ignoring your orders, and willfully engaged with an enemy without contacting your superiors first.¡±


    Meisha felt the blood drain from her face. The thought to seek higher permission had never crossed her mind during the engagement; only the thought to bait the trap and strike swiftly. ¡°Yes sir,¡± she said, almost in a whisper. ¡°But I-¡±


    ¡°Captain, there is no excuse.¡± Vidaker growled. ¡°You went directly against orders and engaged an enemy you weren¡¯t supposed to. You used mining equipment in volatile conditions without training or knowledge on how they function. You endangered the lives of your crew, and the cost of the equipment you were carrying. You endangered and blatantly disregarded the possibility of mass civilian casualties. Due to your actions, we have removed you as captain of the Rolling Thunder. You are not fit to be the captain of a transport ship.¡±


    Meisha felt her heart lurch. She clenched her hands into fists and fought to keep her eyes from watering up, mind racing for the right words. ¡°Please reconsider. This is my first mistake, and the crew and I are a perfect fit. We-¡±


    ¡°The decision is already made, and it''s final. At least have the spine to accept your punishment with dignity.¡±


    Another admiral cleared their throat. ¡°With all due respect, High Admiral, this isn¡¯t how we agreed to break the news.¡±


    Vidaker grunted and muttered, ¡°Yes, Yes.¡± Giving Meisha a glare of disapproval, he shifted his gaze back to his holopad. ¡°You¡¯re damned lucky, do you know that, girl? If I had my way, you¡¯d be sitting in a cell right now. You¡¯re lucky that the civilian population sees you as some sort of hero, as does the United Colonial Coalition and among some of the Admiralty. We¡­have decided to award you the Fleet''s Commendation of Courage award for your bravery and courage, however foolish and misplaced it is.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Meisha whispered, still reeling from the fact of her ship being torn away from her so suddenly. The award felt like a band-aid being placed over a gunshot wound.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think it''s anything more than a way to placate the public.¡± Vidaker growled. He cleared his throat, seeming to relax a bit. ¡°Did you ever hear of the A-1:1 project while you were in the academy?¡±


    Meisha peered up, a confused expression on her face. Her thoughts were still about the Rolling Thunder and its crew, no longer caring much about the admiralty in front of her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what?¡±


    Vikaker shook his head in disbelief. ¡°No wonder you can¡¯t follow your damned orders. You can¡¯t even focus. The A-1:1 project. Should have been quite the buzz when you were in the academy. A new way of naval warfare. Surely you know what I am talking about.


    Meisha thought back to her studies in the naval academy, not wanting to give Vidaker an excuse to hate her even more. Nothing regarding an ¡®A-1:1¡¯ came to mind. She shook her head slowly, fists clenched behind her back as she bounced between grief and rage at Vidaker. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of anything about an ¡®A-1:1¡¯.¡± She answered curtly.


    ¡°It was originally developed to be the most advanced battleship humanity had ever designed. State of the art modern engines, reactors and weapons. Only one exists, as a prototype designed to handle any and all situations ever presented to the fleet and her colonies. The prototype has been in storage for about four years now; as it proved too expensive to try and outfit and launch. Until now, it''s costing more in storage, maintenance and security than it would be just to outfit the bloody thing and send it on its way. We need it gone, and you¡¯re the perfect captain to command it.¡±


    ¡°What? Why me? I¡¯m sure that someone with more-¡±


    ¡°The matter is not up for debate, captain,¡± Vidaker growled. ¡°You are being assigned to this prototype as a way to appease the civilians and the UCC, and them alone. To them, you¡¯re the only hero in the fleet. You will command this ship. You will accept the mission we are going to offer you. Or, you will spend the rest of your career stuck behind the desk on some backwater colony as a fleet liaison. This may sound like a promotion, but it is not. Am I making myself clear?¡±


    The captain shifted uncomfortably. ¡°Will I be a part of any sort of battle groups or formations?¡±


    ¡°No. You¡¯ll be a solo operator ship.¡±


    ¡°I¡­I see.¡± To be a solo operator ship was a death sentence; a single cruiser would draw pirates more vigorously than the normal battle groups of three or four ships. That Meisha was being given a new crew, ship, and sent out alone made her feel very alone. She had upstaged the Admiralty, and they all knew it. So the reward was to be given a new toy and told to stay out of the Admiralty¡¯s spotlight.


    ¡°Do you accept your assignment to this ship?¡±


    Meisha swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly very dry. ¡°Yes sir.¡±


    ¡°Good. The ship¡¯s current designation is the A-1:1; due to the circumstances we will allow you to name it. We will also forward you the dossiers of your crew and the ship¡¯s blueprints. I suggest you study them very hard tonight. You ship out on your next assignment in three days.¡±


    ¡°Three days?!?¡± Meisha gasped.


    ¡°It only took you five days to set up an ambush on a pirate flotilla. I think three days is plenty of time for someone of your¡­ caliber to read a few papers. You¡¯re a big girl, you can handle the short turnaround time. Unfortunately, a rather serious matter needs tending to, and you¡¯re the only available captain we have. It¡¯ll be an easy first assignment; a suitable way to become familiar with the A-1:1 and your crew. You¡¯ll see the ship firsthand tomorrow morning and meet the crew we¡¯ve been able to assemble. You¡¯ll then have a day to prepare and you¡¯ll launch the subsequent morning.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Meisha steadied herself. ¡°Understood. And what''s the mission?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you asked, it seems you¡¯re starting to put some of that initiative to constructive use at last.¡± Vidaker said, taking a seat. ¡°We¡¯ve lost contact with a gas mining colony and its Starshot station in the Perseus arm of the galaxy, around sixty five thousand lightyears away. They¡¯re on the outer fringes of the colonial barrier, at the edge of explored space. We¡¯ve received no emergency communications from them. It¡¯s a three year old colony, so relatively new, but we had some experts there and a small fleet patrol to keep it safe. As we¡¯ve had no word, we need you to go and establish contact with the commanding officer of the Starshot, colony, or patrol.¡±


    ¡°Wait. Permission to speak freely, sir?¡±


    The head admiral grunted. ¡°If you must.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sending a prototype ship, one that''s crazy expensive to launch, under the command of an officer with no training with its systems, along with a new crew, to go check up on a gas mining colony? Don¡¯t you think that''s a bit¡­ excessive?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. Like I said, it''s costing more for us to store the A-1:1 than it would to launch it. It''s been taking up a massive amount of space to keep it on ground, and doing system checks and maintenance just in case we need it takes away priorities for other duties. You will also need an easier assignment to become used to commanding the A-1:1 and your new crew. Any other questions?¡±


    ¡°No sir.¡±


    Vidaker nodded at Branson, who stood up. ¡°Very well then, I¡¯ll have Admiral Branson here escort you to the hotel room we¡¯ve rented for you. Your personal effects from the Rolling Thunder are there, along with a holo-pad that contains all the information we''ve talked about earlier. You¡¯ll be called upon at 0800 tomorrow morning to go inspect the A-1:1, and meet your crew.¡± He set down his holopad, and stared at Meisha, causing her to shift uncomfortably. ¡°You are dismissed, Captain.¡±


    ¡°Well that could have gone a bit better,¡± Branson grumbled as they flew through the now bustling nightlife of the city. ¡°Vidaker really went for your throat. That''s not how we had planned on breaking the news to you, by the way. Originally it was supposed to be a happy occasion with a small slap on your wrist.¡±


    ¡°Lucky me,¡± Meisha mumbled, gazing out at the neon electric skyline that was zipping past. The sun had long since set, lights were beaming and the traffic floated high above the pedestrian paths below. Brightly colored billboards flashed advertisements, Fleet enlistment videos, and political campaign messages.


    Hues of blue, red, and yellow reflected off passing skycars. Green gardens or parks could be seen through the massive skyscrapers, which illuminated more as the sky got darker. It was beautiful in its own way, life and energy abounded throughout the place. She silently cursed the Admiralty for not allowing her more time to spend enjoying it.


    ¡°Hey now. It''s not all doom and gloom, Meisha.¡± Branson said, his tone soft.


    Meisha looked over at him. ¡°How am I supposed to feel, Branson? Rolling Thunder was my home. I knew I could be reassigned, but so quickly? I didn¡¯t have a chance to say goodbye to Aymer, or Amade, or Kamir or Quacita. I may never see them again.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡° On top of this, I¡¯m on Earth for the first time in five years and I can only stay for a few days. I have to crunch hard to learn a completely new crew and ship overnight.¡± She turned away from the window, deep sadness in her eyes. ¡°Hell Branson, I didn¡¯t even have a chance to say goodbye to my niece or nephew.¡± Meisha fell silent for a moment. ¡°Who knows how tall they¡¯ll be next time I see them.¡±


    ¡°Meisha-¡±


    ¡°No! It''s not my fault that the damned Admiralty cares more about money and equipment than it does the actual defense of colonies! I saw what they did to Harmony. Maybe the Admiralty was fine with that but not me.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t seeing the full picture, Meisha¡± Branson said, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. ¡°It''s not that they don¡¯t care. There are a lot of colonies out there that need protecting; we can¡¯t be everywhere at once.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Meisha mumbled. ¡°This just¡­ it sucks.¡±


    ¡°This was never going to be an easy thing. Not giving you a chance to say goodbye was intentional. You would have been distracted, and we can¡¯t afford that. Trying to rush you into command of a ship that''s not supposed to exist isn¡¯t exactly easy.¡±


    ¡°Right, some prototype ship. Great.¡±


    Branson gave a soft chuckle. ¡°Wait til you see it. In truth I¡¯m a little jealous, the A-1:1 is a beauty with a bite to back it up.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s the catch?¡± Meisha said, giving him a sidelong look. ¡°It¡¯s luxurious and it has weapons. Why is it being shoved off onto me?¡±


    Branson shrugged. ¡°Convenience, really. You¡¯re the luckiest captain in the fleet. Ship was so damned expensive because it was originally going to be Vidaker¡¯s flagship. Probably the reason he was so bloody angry.¡± He said, laughing. ¡°


    Meisha raised her eyebrow, quizzically. ¡°So I¡¯m not being stationed on a dysfunctional piece of junk, then?¡±


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Meisha, have a little faith in me. Would I let them do that to you?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ No I suppose you wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    Branson laughed, patting her shoulder. ¡°I¡±ll tell you what; go curl up with some coffee and study the blueprints. Then see it tomorrow, and if you¡¯re not in love with her the moment you see it, give me a call, ok?¡±


    ¡°Alright Branson, alright,¡± Meisha said. ¡°And the crew? A new ship is one thing; but you¡¯re throwing me into an entirely new family and a single day to bond with them.¡±


    ¡°Oh you¡¯ll like your crew. I hand picked them myself.¡± Branson said with a grin.


    ¡°You hand picked them?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I went through thousands of career files and found you the best; people that I think who fit in well with you and your style of leadership. Read their files. You¡¯ll like them, I promise.¡±


    Meisha exhaled, feeling somewhat comforted by Branson¡¯s assurances. ¡°Alright, if you say so.¡± She shook her head as the skycar came to a stop on the hotel¡¯s landing platform. ¡°You haven¡¯t let me down yet.¡±


    ¡°And I never will.¡± Branson replied, tossing her a room keychip.


    Meisha stared up at the hotel room''s ceiling, wishing she could turn her brain off and sleep. The silence of the small room was deafening. A dim blue holographic clock on the wall displayed the time, pulsing with each second. The hours had been slowly ticking by while the young captain processed everything she had been told that evening. The Rolling Thunder was gone. Stripped away from her without even a chance to say goodbye to her beloved crew. Meisha was being given command of some mystery ship that hadn¡¯t been deployed before, and a crew she was unfamiliar with.


    If the situation had been different, she would have been sent the information about her new posting via InstantComm. This would have given her plenty of time to sift through the ship¡¯s specifications and her crew dossiers. Branson, however, had informed her that the A-1:1 prototype was too confidential to send via encrypted comms and would be delivered the old fashioned way; through a paper packet. Instead of researching and learning her new ship, Meisha was forced to wait. ¡°Damn it Branson, what are you throwing me into?¡± She grumbled to herself.


    There was a sharp rap on the door, and Meisha¡¯s heart rate spiked. Making sure she was somewhat presentable, the disheveled captain opened the door to see a pale young woman standing there, a jacket worn over her UCDF jumpsuit and a briefcase in her hands. She blew a strand of red hair out of her face and examined Meisha.


    ¡°Captain Meisha Al-Jihlani?¡±


    ¡°Yep, that''s me.¡± Meisha replied. ¡°Are you here to deliver my docs?¡±


    ¡°Sure am.¡± the woman replied. ¡°Just need to verify your ID first. Do you have a passcode given to you from the Admiralty?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Please come in.¡± Meisha said, stepping into the room and grabbing her fleet ID from the nightstand. The woman followed her, closing the door behind herself and setting the case on a desk.


    ¡°ID matches. That passcode?¡±


    ¡°Midnight.¡±


    The woman smiled and stuck out her hand, visibly relaxing. ¡°Great! Penelope Vasquez, Starship pilot and apparently now a document runner. I¡¯ll be your flygirl, Captain!¡±


    Meisha smiled warmly back, shaking her hand. ¡°Nice to meet you Penelope, and thanks for delivering these. Can I get you anything? A cup of coffee for your trouble?¡±


    ¡°Coffee would be great, thanks. And my friends call me Thorn.¡±


    Meisha set a pot of coffee to brew, pouring two cups of the strong black drink. ¡°Thorn huh? How¡¯d you earn that honorific?¡±


    Thorn accepted her cup of coffee. ¡°Eh, I''ve been told I¡¯m a bit of a hothead by a few of my past commanders. Started off as a Hellcat Interceptor pilot and ended up graduating to battleships. Command says I¡¯ve got a natural talent for flying, but the last ship I was assigned to, I ended up getting it damaged.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Was chasing a pirate that had gotten separated from their flotilla. Tried to shake me off in an asteroid field, but I was able to mostly navigate through and we caught them. Not before our ship took plenty of asteroid impacts and broke our main engine and a handful of our guns though. And¡­ The admiral had told me not to. Did it anyway, so they¡¯re somewhat upset at me. It was either I accept this position or I go to trial.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Easy choice for me.¡±


    Meisha studied the pilot through a new lens, laughing quietly. ¡°I have to ask, why follow the pirates into the asteroid field?¡±


    ¡°Someone had to.¡± Thorn replied. ¡°I had seen pirates slip away so many times, I got sick of it. I knew I could reach him, so I did.¡± She noticed the wary look in Meisha¡¯s eyes, and smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, cap. I¡¯m not gonna pull something similar with you. This new ship is way too beautiful to scratch up.¡±


    Meisha blinked. ¡°You¡¯ve seen it?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Thorn replied. ¡°You mean you haven¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Just found out about it today.¡± Meisha grumbled. She pointed her coffee cup at the briefcase. ¡°I was waiting on that.¡±


    Thorn smiled. ¡°Oh you¡¯re in for a treat, Captain. Let me show you!¡± She popped open the briefcase and slid a folder across the desk. ¡°Check it out. Isn¡¯t that the prettiest ship you¡¯ve ever laid eyes on?¡±


    Meisha had to admit, Thorn was right. While most UCDF ships were blocky and drab, the A-1:1 had a more elegant look to it. Instead of just rear thrusters and a few maneuvering jets, it had four fins; two smaller ones in the front and two much larger ones in the back. Each fin had a rotary thruster inside of it, allowing the ship to yaw, pitch and roll in the vacuum of space. In the back sat the two primary thrusters responsible for 90% of the propulsion system. It had the potential to be very, very fast.


    Its interior was also shockingly luxurious for a military craft. While most military ships were completely utilitarian in their design, the A-1:1¡¯s interior could easily be mistaken for a civilian ship. It housed a sizable medical and research center instead of the normal sick bay a destroyer would have. The cafeteria was massive, with small gardens and even some trees inside to give the crew a feeling of home while eating. Its hangars were clean and could house anything from Hellcat interceptors and dropships to civilian craft. Even the personnel deck, which housed the sleeping quarters, had multiple rec rooms for the crew to relax and unwind in.


    It was much fancier than anything Meisha had ever served on. Normally one would have to land on a planet or station to experience many of the creature comforts the A-1:1 sported. ¡°Sure, it looks marvelous.¡± the captain admitted. ¡°But I was told this thing had some bite to it.¡±


    ¡°Oh it does.¡± Thorn said grinning. ¡°Check this out: It''s built around this thing called a TAR cannon. Stands for Titanium Accelerated Rail, same sort of tech they use for planetary defense cannons.¡±


    Meisha blinked, surprised. ¡°They managed to fit one on a ship? Firing that thing must be hell with thrust and momentum.¡±


    ¡°Nope, the ship¡¯s inertial drives help dampen the recoil. Not sure how they did it. Firing this baby takes a ton of energy but doesn¡¯t mess up our flight path or speed. The slug will slam into enemy ships, penetrate their armor and then boom.¡± Thorn mimicked an explosion with her hands. ¡°The warhead inside detonates and shreds them with superheated metal. It''s supposed to be able to turn battleships into slag in one hit.¡±


    Meisha thought back to the pirate ships she had destroyed with a similar weapon. ¡°Bad way to go.¡±


    ¡°Oh that''s not all.¡± Thorn said with glee. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for anyone who decides to try and pick a fight with us. We have layered cannons on each side, in case we only want to poke a ship full of holes instead of vaporizing it. Missile and torpedo batteries of course, as well as sixteen Hellcat interceptors and two Phoenix transport ships in our hangars. And if something fires a shot off at us somehow, our point defense guns should be able to shred it before it gets too close.¡±


    Meisha thought for a moment. It was a massive amount of ordinance and having the TAR weapon was a huge benefit. The sheer size of its ammunition meant she would only be able to carry a handful of shots each voyage. It would have to be used sparingly; only when they needed to obliterate something. Otherwise, the A-1:1 would have to pound the enemy with its smaller weapons until the enemy surrendered or were destroyed.


    She continued flipping through the ship¡¯s file. ¡°I see it says it''s rated for both atmosphere and vacuum?¡±


    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am. We can go anywhere you want to.¡± Thorn replied. ¡°That''s what I¡¯m most excited about. Sure, the ship is fast and lethal, but it''s also free to fly anywhere.¡± She went quiet for a moment. ¡°Hell, that''s why I enlisted.¡±


    Meisha set the ship¡¯s file to the side and glanced over at the young pilot. ¡°You enlisted to fly anywhere?¡±


    Thorn bit her lip for a moment, embarrassed in front of her new commander. ¡°Sort of.¡± She sighed. ¡°I grew up in Detroit after the collapse. Street level, not even one of the higher buildings. Most nights you could stare straight up at the sky and see nothing but traffic and smog. I hated it. Didn¡¯t have many options after high school, my family couldn¡¯t afford university, so I enlisted. Was gonna be a normal infantry grunt, but during testing they found out I had very good reflexes and stuck me in a pilot''s seat.¡± Thorn smiled to herself.


    ¡°I had only seen the stars in textbooks up to that point. Leaving Earth¡¯s atmosphere for the first time¡­ it was the greatest feeling I¡¯ve ever had. Stars, planets, nebulas¡­ they were all mystical to me. Still are, actually. It''s my obsession. I don¡¯t want to be stuck on this rock, I wanna be up there, figuring out the secrets of the universe and seeing things nobody has ever seen before.¡± She examined Meisha. ¡°I have a feeling I¡¯m going to be able to do that working for you.¡±


    ¡°That''s a noble way of looking at life.¡± Meisha replied.


    Thorn laughed. ¡°Beats the hell out of moping around the ship until we touch dirt again, that''s for sure.¡±


    Meisha relaxed a bit. She had been so worried about this new command and crew. At least her pilot was likable. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have our own fair share of adventures. I¡¯m happy to have you as my pilot Thorn.¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°Just promise me you won¡¯t joyride our ship into a star or something.¡±


    ¡°Not unless you order me to, Captain.¡± Thorn replied with a wink. ¡°Am I the first crewmember you¡¯ve met?¡±


    ¡°Sure are.¡±


    ¡°Awesome. That means I have a better chance at becoming your favorite!¡±


    Meisha shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t have favorites, I take care of all my crew.¡±


    ¡°You say that, but everybody knows that captains have their favorites.¡± Thorn said. ¡°Besides, everyone else is a bit of an odd duck.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve met everyone already? Are you a pilot or an intel officer?¡±


    ¡°I get around.¡± Thorn said with a grin. ¡°Everybody loves a hotshot pilot. Here, check these out.¡± She dug through the briefcase and tossed more files onto the desk. ¡°Some interesting people are gonna be flying with us.¡±


    Meisha picked one up, looking at the files inside. ¡°Lieutenant Nathanial Briggs, commander of ground force, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± Thorn confirmed. ¡°Guy is a legend in the outer colonies, longtime veteran of ship to surface deployments. Apparently his troops love him. Rumor has it that he was ¡®grossly insubordinate¡¯ on his last campaign and lost a decent amount of soldiers to pirates.¡±


    ¡°Insubordinate?¡± Meisha mused. ¡°I guess he¡¯ll fit right in with you and I then.¡±


    Thorn shook her head. ¡°Nah, you and I are insubordinate. He¡¯s ¡®grossly¡¯ insubordinate. Almost got his entire detachment killed I guess. They ordered him to stand down to try and cut a peace deal with some dug in pirates on a colony. I guess he disagreed and ended up causing a lot of grief and casualties. Admiralty was gonna try him, but rumor is his troops were going to revolt if they did.¡±


    ¡°So instead they assigned him to me and gave me his troops.¡± Meisha muttered. ¡°Two hundred and fifty of them.¡±


    ¡°I guess don¡¯t end up on his bad side or give him an order he disagrees with.¡± Thorn said with a shrug. ¡°Otherwise he could snap and kill us all.¡±


    Meisha studied the bald, bearded man in the file¡¯s photo; the image¡¯s steely eyes drilling into her soul. ¡°Shit.¡±


    ¡°Yeah I¡¯d be really worried about him. More So than Michelle.¡± Thorn admitted.


    Setting Brigg¡¯s file down, Meisha searched for one bearing the name Thorn had mentioned. The image of a blonde woman with bright green eyes smiled back at her. ¡°Specialist Michelle Pirique?¡±


    ¡°Yeah that''s the one.¡± Thorn grumbled.


    ¡°She¡¯s the Liaison officer? I don¡¯t see anything in her file that looks terrible. No insubordination at least.¡±


    Thorn grunted. ¡°Yeah? Look at her family.¡±


    Meisha did, and her eyes went wide. ¡°She¡¯s Admiral Vidaker¡¯s daughter? What the hell did she do to become assigned to us?¡±


    ¡°My honest opinion? She¡¯s here to watch us and make sure we behave.¡± Thorn admitted. ¡°No better position for her than a liaison officer. Every order, status update or tidbit of news goes through her. And with us being a troublesome lot and Vidaker¡¯s legendary dislike for rulebreakers, I¡¯m sure he¡¯d love to have his daughter here to make sure we follow orders. Could also be to make sure Dr. Serrano doesn¡¯t come up with any ideas.¡±


    ¡°Thorn, did you go through these files before you delivered them to me?¡±


    Thorn smiled devilishly. ¡°No Cap, like I said, I get around.


    Meisha blinked. Serrano¡¯s name sounded very familiar, and Meisha knew she had seen the thin woman in the file before. ¡°Wait, Dr. Amara Serrano? Isn¡¯t she that civilian doctor who tried to blackmail the admiralty a few years back by threatening to falsify medical tests?¡±


    ¡°Yep that''s the one. Came out with all of these crazy claims on how the fleet was knowingly manufacturing bad meds to cut costs. Generated a ton of buzz until they found huge sums of money that she had been paid to tarnish the UCDF¡¯s medical program.¡±


    ¡°What the hell is she doing serving on my ship then? She should be in prison.¡±


    ¡°Way above my paygrade.¡± Thorn said with a shrug. ¡°My guess is, the lady is wicked smart. Comes off as cold and arrogant, but she has five different medical degrees and even more biology ones. She scares me more than Briggs, I won¡¯t lie.¡±


    ¡°So no prior fleet experience, but a hell of a surgeon.¡± Meisha said.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Thorn fell quiet for a moment. ¡° Captain, I can¡¯t help but think this is some sort of redemption mission for a lot of us who are in bad graces with the Admiralty. Maybe they¡¯re trying to give us a chance to prove we¡¯re worth keeping around?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Meisha replied. She picked up the last file on the desk, thumbing through it. ¡°Joshua Anderson. What''s his story?¡±


    Thorn shook her head in pity. ¡°Ah, Anderson. Poor guy just cracked one day, apparently. Word is that he spent almost twenty years as a battleship gunner, and was one of the most accurate fire control specialists in the fleet. I guess the stress got to him. He seems kind enough.¡±


    ¡°His record looks stellar.¡± Meisha said. She studied the image of an older man, proudly wearing the insignia of his ship at the time the picture was taken. ¡°He froze after being that solid for that long?¡±


    ¡°Well the rumor is that he freaked out and lost his nerve. Doesn¡¯t seem off when I met him in person, but who knows. He should just retire.¡± Thorn eyed the wall clock as the hour turned. ¡°Ah, sorry captain, I¡¯ve stayed way too long.¡± She set her coffee down and rushed to the door. Turning back, she gave Meisha a warm smile. ¡°Nice meeting you though. I look forward to exploring the galaxy with you!¡± With that, the energetic pilot vanished into the hotel wall, returning the room to silence.


    Meisha studied the mess of papers on her desk, and rubbed her eyes. ¡°This is going to be like herding cats, isn¡¯t it?¡± She muttered to herself, watching the clock on the wall as it counted down the time. Too much to read, and not enough time to absorb it all. With a sigh, the captain brewed another cup of coffee and got to work.


    ¡°Good morning, Captain!¡± said the overly cheery Admiralty member as a very groggy Meisha stepped out of the skycar. She gave him a weak salute, walking past him to check in at the hangar security. The man ran to her side like an eager puppy. ¡°My name is Adam, Captain Al-Jihlani. I will be showing you around the A-1:1 today and introducing you to your crew!¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, morning to you as well,¡± Meisha grunted. She let the hangar security guards take her biometric data, verifying her identity. The guards stepped aside, letting her and the Admiralty straggler through.


    ¡°Are you excited to see the A-1:1? I know we have sent you blueprints, did you-¡±


    ¡°I was awake until 2 in the morning looking over the blueprints,¡± Mesha said, a slight growl in her voice. ¡°I had one evening to view it, so don¡¯t expect me to remember everything, ok?¡±


    The man shrunk back for a second. ¡°Uh, ok then. As you wish, I suppose. Right this way please.¡± He straightened himself out and led Meisha through the hangar complex, until they reached a large, sectioned off area with several guards in REAPER armor. Adam gave them a nod, and they were ushered in. Meisha¡¯s jaw dropped.


    The A-1:1 was by far the most beautiful ship Meisha had ever seen. It was huge. With silver armor plating and black trim, it felt like the very ship itself belonged in the vacuum of space. On its mighty wings sat guns the size of old towers, capable of tearing near any opponent to shreds. Small shuttles flew to and fro, hauling supplies and personnel to different points for launch preparation. Occasionally, a low rumble that could be mistaken for thunder drowned out the hangar noise as engines and thrusters were test fired. Meisha had to refocus, realizing she had stopped in her tracks to stare. She caught up to Adam, who had continued his pace. He gave a small laugh.


    ¡°Most people have a similar reaction the first time they see it.¡±


    Meisha shook her head in amazement, her morning grumpiness forgotten. ¡°This is the A-1:1? I knew it was big but¡­ not this.¡±


    ¡°It''s impressive, isn''t it?¡± Adam exclaimed. ¡°I never thought I would ever see the Admiralty and the UCC come to an agreement to launch it, even if it is just at half capacity!¡±


    ¡°What? Half what?¡± Meisha asked. She had known there was going to be catch to all this, but she didn¡¯t believe that the Admiralty would send her into space without a stocked ship.


    ¡°Half capacity! Surely the Admiralty told you that due to ammo and personnel costs, we can only fit the A-1:1 with about 40 to 50 percent of its maximum ammo and supplies, and about 70 percent of its crew.¡±


    ¡°No, they forgot to mention that little tidbit,¡± Meisha growled.


    Adam gave a small shrug and a slightly nervous smile. ¡°Well, you¡¯ll still have all of your essentials so it won¡¯t be like we¡¯re sending you to your death or anything. The mission is a simple investigation ¡ª a non combat mission. Hopefully, it won¡¯t turn out like your last one, right?¡± He said, his voice straining with false friendliness as he nudged her with his elbow. Mesiha¡¯s only response was a withering glare.


    Adam cleared his throat. ¡°Once you complete it I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to afford filling some of those holes in your supply list!¡±


    Meisha shook her head, laughing disdainfully. ¡°How about fuel, oxygen, food? Are you sending us up with that?¡±


    ¡°Why, of course! The A-1:1 has oxygen scrubbers that will reprocess used air, a hydroponics area for growing fruits and veggies, and enough food to last a year round trip. Your four fusion reactors are fueled and will keep you running for a very long time.¡± He paused for a moment. ¡°I know it''s not ideal, but I believe a Captain like yourself will be able to handle it, I really do. Now, before you make any rash decisions or anything, would you like to see the inside and meet your crew?¡±


    ¡°Alright. Yeah, let''s see it,¡± Meisha replied. The two walked across one of the many entry bridges that led towards the A-1:1¡¯s main airlock. An entry station had been set up, with a pale woman sitting at a desk, processing crewmembers that were entering the ship. Her blonde hair was covered by a navy blue military cap, and she was solely focused on the holopads and data terminals in front of her. In one of her ears rested a com device, and her eyes flicked from screen to screen without looking at the people in front of her.


    ¡°Good morning, Michelle!¡± Adam said in his annoyingly cheerful voice. The woman didn¡¯t look up.


    ¡°Not right now, Adam. This is a big day, the Captain will finally be here. We don¡¯t need to do any more inspections or tests or last minute changes.¡±


    ¡°If I may-¡± Adam began.


    ¡°No you may not. You¡¯ve been floating around here bugging the prep crew for the past few days, and suggesting changes that aren¡¯t necessary. Hell, Briggs told me that if he sees you in his armory again he¡¯ll toss you out the airlock himself.¡±


    ¡°But I-¡± Adam glanced helplessly at Meisha, who crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Lieutenant Briggs threatened to do what?¡± She asked, holding back a small smile. The woman glanced up, and bolted out of her chair in a salute.


    ¡°Captain Al-Jihlani!¡± She exclaimed, wide-eyed. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I didn¡¯t see you there! I was so wrapped up in my work, I just-¡±


    Meisha gave a small laugh, and returned her salute. ¡°At ease, Specialist. Michelle Pirique, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am,¡± She stepped forwards, extending her hand. ¡° I heard about your last assignment, It will be an honor serving with you!¡±


    ¡°The honor is mine. It''s not every day I have the head admiral¡¯s daughter as my liaison officer.¡± Meisha replied, shaking her hand. Michelle¡¯s face soured a bit.


    ¡°Believe me, Ma¡¯am, it''s not anything special.¡± She paused for a moment, and gave an easy smile. ¡°The A-1:1 is incredible, isn¡¯t it? I never thought I¡¯d see such a ship in my life. Let alone serve on one!¡±


    Meisha smiled. ¡°Well I¡¯m glad you like it. Truthfully I only found out about it less than a day ago, but it''s very impressive.¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°This will be your first tour in space, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. Don¡¯t worry about me though, I¡¯m more than capable. I helped my fa¡­ Head Admiral Vidaker as his liaison officer for a while. I¡¯m plenty capable.¡±


    ¡°Well then, I look forward to working with you,¡± Meisha exclaimed. She nodded into the airlock. ¡°Mind if I step in and check out the inside?¡±


    ¡°Not at all ma¡¯am! If I can make a suggestion, perhaps a visit to the bridge first? It''s at the nose of the ship, you¡¯ll pass most of the important centers on your way.¡±


    Meisha nodded. ¡°Sounds like a plan, then.¡± She turned to Adam, who had backed off slightly. ¡°Are you coming along?¡±


    The man gave a weak smile. ¡°No thank you, I¡¯ll wait out here. I¡¯d rather not like to come face to face with Lieutenant Briggs again.¡± Meisha nodded, and stepped inside. The interior walls were matte silver, with dark steel flooring. White lights illuminated the entire hallway, banishing any shadow that dared to try and form. Meisha continued into the belly of the beast, walking past crewmen rushing back and forth, looking at wall signs for the directions to the bridge.


    After some wandering, she found it. Walking up a ramp into the lofty command center, Meisha emerged into a room that sat forty people. Massive viewing screens surrounded them on all the walls as well as on the domed ceiling, giving the entire bridge a 360 degree view of the outside. All of the panels were on standby at the moment, casting a deep blue shade on the room.


    Each viewing panel was a sector, and each sector had assigned crewmen to monitor and report on what they saw. In the front of the room, right in front of Sector One viewing screen, was the pilot''s station. Thorn sat there with her boots kicked up on the dash, signature jacket on over her jumpsuit. She gave a lazy wave in Meisha¡¯s direction before redirecting her attention to the datapad in her hand.


    Over to the right sat the gunnery station, where a grizzled man with gray hair tinkered with the controls. He looked up as soon as Meisha entered the bridge, snapping to attention. ¡°Captain on deck!¡± He snapped. Several of the junior officers scrambled to stand and salute, some dropping tools or files. Thorn gave an almost imperceptible roll of her eyes and a smile, and followed suit.


    ¡°At ease.¡± Meisha replied, motioning everyone to relax. She walked up to him and shook his hand. ¡°Am I correct in assuming that you are my gunner?¡±


    The man gave a stiff nod. ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am, Gunnery Officer Joshua Anderson. I¡¯ve been firing guns on military ships for a long time. The A-1:1 has a newer system, but I¡¯ll learn it fast.¡± He nodded to the pale woman with the jacket as she approached. ¡°And that over there is-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Anderson, the captain and I already met!¡± Thorn said, giving a somewhat cocky salute. ¡°You look a little tired, captain. Didn¡¯t get much sleep last night?¡± The disparity between this woman and Anderson was somewhat amusing for Meisha. She could tell that Anderson was a military man through and through, and she could tell that Thorn was not, even a little bit.


    ¡°Are you two getting along ok?¡± Meisha asked.


    Anderson nodded ¡°I think so, Ma¡¯am. Thorn may have a bit to learn on military bearing, but I¡¯m sure some good examples will rub off on her.¡±


    Thorn rolled her eyes playfully. ¡°Sure Anderson. Just make sure you can keep your firing lines up with my flying. I don¡¯t fly at ¡®Early Bird Special¡¯ speeds.¡±


    Anderson gave a gruff laugh. ¡°As long as you can keep up with my target patterns. And we don¡¯t have any dates with asteroid fields.¡±


    ¡°Hey bringing that up isn¡¯t fair! I still got the guy.¡±


    ¡°Glad to hear you¡¯re working well together.¡± Meisha said with a smile. ¡°Stop by the briefing room at 15:00. We have a lot to go over and not much time.¡±


    ¡°Aye captain!¡± Both responded in unison. Meisha gave them a quick salute, and set off to tour the rest of the ship.


    The armory was a travesty. Weapons laid in piles on the floor, with ammunition boxes scattered in no apparent order. Troopers scuttled back and forth through the mess, grabbing supplies and stowing them in their PRBs (Personal Readiness Bays). Meisha took her cap off and stepped inside, giving a small laugh at the state of the place. ¡°They really are doing this at the last possible minute, aren¡¯t they?¡± She muttered. ¡°At this point I expect the ship to be held together with duct tape and string.¡±


    Over the noise of the busy armory, a man¡¯s voice could be heard shouting orders. Moving past a few stacks of supplies, Meisha caught a glimpse of him. The man was massive, well built with broad shoulders and a thick brown beard. His blue eyes cut through the room, and no soldier could escape it. ¡°Perez!¡± He shouted. ¡°That''s a rocket launcher, not your dog. Don¡¯t drag the damned thing on the floor, pick it up! Lupus, Make sure that armor is secure! Remember ladies: three hundred rounds, rifle, sidearm, and armor in your PRBs! If I find anything extra you¡¯ll be dropping in with nothing.¡± He caught Meisha¡¯s eye and cursed. ¡°And of course the captain¡¯s here now.¡±


    Meisha raised her eyebrow, and moved closer to the man. ¡°Is this a bad time?¡±


    ¡°It''s always a bad time. May as well see the place.¡± The man said, giving her a quick salute and turning towards a soldier who had just tripped over a box. ¡°Emil, if you watched where you were going half as well as you stared at Private Anya¡¯s ass, we¡¯d be done by now!¡± He shook his head. ¡°Damn these kids. I¡¯m Lieutenant Briggs, Ma¡¯am, but I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ve already figured that one out.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Briggs.¡± Meisha took a look around the chaotic room. ¡°So, what''s going on here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what¡¯s what, the Admiralty are a bunch of asshats.¡± Briggs growled. ¡°They dumped our supplies in here yesterday, and didn¡¯t let us know. Left me and my men to sort it out, which I have no trouble doing, but the assholes never even gave us all of our gear. I¡¯m missing half of my ammunition, 18 sets of REAPER heavy power armor, several heavy weapons and a few rifles. And from the sounds of it, we won¡¯t be receiving them until after this first deployment, right?¡±


    ¡°I was told that it¡¯ll be an easy recon mission.¡±


    The lieutenant stared at her dead in the eyes. ¡°Of course you were. You¡¯re a rookie captain who happened to get the drop on a handful of pirates and got lucky. In real combat, nothing is ever easy or simple. The admiralty has already screwed us over by limiting my equipment and manpower. Now I have a captain who¡¯s hungry for medals. People like you tend to get people like me killed.¡±


    Meisha narrowed her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re obviously speaking freely, so I will too. You don¡¯t know a single thing about me Lieutenant. I don¡¯t plan on getting anybody killed.¡±


    Briggs studied the young captain. ¡°What would you do if I hit you, right now? If I just punched you in the face as hard as I could, how would you react?¡±


    Meisha blinked, thrown off by the random question of violence.


    ¡°Would you stamp your foot and demand I be arrested? Would you cry and run away?¡± Briggs leaned closer, his eyes threatening. ¡°What will you do when the fist hits your face?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Right. You have no clue.¡± Briggs grunted. He turned away and hefted a box of ammunition onto his broad shoulder. ¡°People who haven¡¯t seen combat, real combat, not the sterilized ship to ship fighting, have no idea.¡± He set the box down in a PRB with his own name stenciled on it, and sighed. ¡°You never know how someone will react until they¡¯re actually in the mud, blood and shit. I¡¯ve been in the shit, Captain. If you¡¯re smart, which the newscasters believe you are, you¡¯ll listen to my advice. I strongly advise against any sort of major firefight on the ground. Half of these kids have only been with the fleet for less than a year, and we do not have enough ammo to last in any sort of real engagement.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Meisha growled, his admonition of her causing her blood to boil. ¡°For now, keep doing what you¡¯re doing. Stop by the briefing room at 15:00, there¡¯s some things we need to talk about.¡±


    Briggs gave a single nod, and turned back to managing the armory. As Meisha walked to the medical center, she could hear his orders echoing down the corridors.


    The medical center was thankfully in a much better condition than the armory. It was quiet and sterile, with bright white lights and small medical drones zipping back and forth, quietly stocking supplies and fulfilling prescriptions for those on the crew who would need them. In the center of the room stood a tall thin woman wearing a lab coat. She peered up from her work as Meisha walked in. ¡°Ah, Captain Al-Jihlani. Doctor Amara Serrano, pleasure to make your acquaintance. Feeling ill?¡±


    ¡°No, I came to see you and your workplace,¡± Meisha said, taking a look around. ¡°How are you settling in?¡±


    ¡°Truthfully? Not well. Only a third of what I requested on my list has actually been provided. I don¡¯t know what you military people use, but I don¡¯t see how I can be expected to keep an entire ship completely healthy with the medical supplies and staff akin to a veterinarian. Much less any sort of engagements you throw us into. We can perform some surgeries and the tech onboard is cutting edge, but we don¡¯t have much medicine to work with. I can handle a large amount of minor injuries, but anything major or long term will need stationside care. My medical drones and I can only handle so much. If anybody loses limbs, we don¡¯t have access to biological replacements or cybernetics.¡±


    Meisha shrugged. ¡°I know, there¡¯s not much I can do. The Admiralty has already made it clear that we won¡¯t be fully equipped until we finish this first flight. I believe it has something to do with proving that we, as a project, are actually worth funding, but who knows what the Admiralty thinks.¡±


    ¡°This brings me to my next concern.¡± Dr. Serrano said. ¡°I am a civilian doctor, not a combat one. Furthermore, I disagree with the concept of militaristic action and violence as an answer. I will not be ¡®going in with the troops¡¯, I refuse to set foot off this ship during engagements.¡±


    ¡°Your concern is noted, and ignored.¡± Meisha growled. ¡°You are my head doctor, if I have a reason for you to be off the ship tending to medical needs, you will be there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nonsense. I am-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you are.¡± Meisha snapped ¡°You are aboard my ship and you will follow my orders. You will not stand here and tell me what you will and will not do. You may be a civilian, but you¡¯re my crew now, and you¡¯ll be treated as such. No special rights for anybody.¡±


    Serrano laughed. ¡°So I will go down during engagements and risk my life with little training while you will be safe aboard the ship?¡±


    ¡°No. Unless there are enemy ships to worry about, I¡¯ll be groundside before you will. You will only be groundside if I have injured troops.¡± She hesitated. ¡°I am not unreasonable, doctor, and I¡¯m not going to put your life in danger for the hell of it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll believe that when I see it, Captain Al-Jihlani. It wasn¡¯t my first choice to be here in the first place. I would much rather be back at my clinic than dealing with members of the Fleet.¡±


    Meisha gave her a small smile. ¡°Well doctor, I¡¯m not the usual fleet captain. If you want to settle in well here, start by trusting me. Now follow me, I want to address my leadership all at once.¡±


    Once they had all gathered in the briefing room, Meisha straightened herself. ¡°I¡¯ve spoken to each of you separately already. We¡¯re all having supply issues, I¡¯ll do what I can to fix that. We will be launching in two days, so we work hard and we work fast. This is a new experience for all of us. We¡¯re the first crew to man the A-1:1; there will be issues, and we¡¯ll deal with them as they happen. I encourage you all to read up on each other''s files and our mission briefing. We stick together and we¡¯ll complete this mission. Other than the supply issue, does anybody have any questions?¡±


    ¡°Yes Captain.¡± Pirique said, slightly raising her hand. ¡°Before we launch, we need to name the A-1:1. Do you have anything in mind?¡±


    Meisha smiled, pulling up a blueprint of the ship on a holopanel and winking in Thorn¡¯s direction. ¡°We¡¯ll call her the Dauntless Midnight.¡±

 Hanaloi

    ¡°How are we looking?¡± Meisha asked Thorn. The woman peered back from the pilot''s chair, her eyes hidden by a set of HUD glasses, showing her streams of relevant data.


    ¡°We¡¯re looking perfect, Captain. All systems have been triple checked and we¡¯re green. No system failures.¡±


    ¡°Green over here, Captain.¡± Anderson called from the gunnery chair. ¡°All weapon systems are currently on standby until we leave the atmosphere. Safeties are engaged, we¡¯re clear for a safe launch.¡±


    Meisha nodded, and looked over at Pirique. ¡°Any word from command?¡±


    Pirique shook her head. ¡°No ma¡¯am. We¡¯re set to launch on your mark. The Dockmaster has opened the doors for us, we¡¯ll be ferried into the atmosphere at 10% thrust. All personnel are accounted for.¡± She paused. ¡°We¡¯re as prepared as we¡¯re going to get.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Meisha said, taking a deep breath to hide her nerves. ¡°We have the best crew in the fleet and we have the best ship ever made. Thorn, take us out, smooth and easy.¡±


    ¡°Hell yes.¡± Thorn said, a cocky grin on her face. The bridge¡¯s holopanels lit up, showing a 360 degree view of the world around them as the Dauntless Midnight¡¯s engines roared to life. A low rumble shook through the ship as the Midnight¡¯s powerful fusion reactors started working harder. Several electronic alarms sounded, and notifications flashed on Meisha¡¯s own HUD glasses, showing her engine statuses and power levels.


    After a moment of idling, The Dauntless Midnight rose from its perch in its hangar, and glided out into the sunlight. Mountains and cities could be seen in the distance, and Meisha stole one last glance at the beauty of Earth. As the ship rose higher into the atmosphere, four stubby ships with thick armor rose up alongside them.


    ¡°Captain Al-Jihlani? Earth Escort Wing. We¡¯re here to take you to high orbit. Congrats on the ship, she¡¯s a beauty.¡±


    Meisha smiled, watching the light blue sky darken as they rose further into the atmosphere, past oceans of clouds. ¡°Thank you. She definitely is.¡± The stars soon became visible, and the earth below had become a glowing canvas of shimmering blue and green. The escort ships faltered, and pulled away.


    ¡°You¡¯re in the exosphere now, Ma¡¯am. Head towards Starshot Pacific, they have orders to fire you out.¡±


    ¡°Will do, thanks.¡± Meisha pulled up her starchart, looking at the colony map. ¡°You heard the man, Thorn. Take us to Starshot Pacific. We¡¯re out of the atmosphere for the most part, let''s take her up to 50% thrusters.¡±


    ¡°Aye captain.¡± Thorn responded. The Dauntless Midnight picked up speed, orbiting the planet towards the pacific ocean. It wasn¡¯t long before the Starshot came into view.


    Starshots were humanity¡¯s most advanced creation to date. Capable of launching ships at speeds faster than light, the massive space stations orbited a central colony in most major systems, acting as a means for both trade and travel. Each starshot was built somewhat similarly, only varying in the number of cannons (or lanes) and interceptor rings it contained.


    The idea was that a ship would be guided remotely into the starshot¡¯s cannon and fired by the station crew, at the interceptor ring of the destination starshot. This way, there was no risk of collision with other ships or disparity between firing lines. The Starshot pacific was the largest station of these, having fourteen lanes for travel. The fleet had three reserved specifically for them, allowing them to embark on missions that would have taken weeks or years in just a matter of a few days.


    ¡°Eh, captain?¡± Pirique asked, looking over. ¡°We¡¯re receiving a transmission from the Starshot pacific, want me to put it through?¡±


    ¡°Please.¡±


    The speaker crackled for a moment. ¡°Welcome to the Pacific, Dauntless Midnight. We have orders to give you a priority lane to Starshot Perseus. Recon ship Lazy Drifter wanted us to relay a quick report to you guys. Word is Perseus is all quiet, Drifter says everything appears normal. Bit of a far out journey, are you ready to go?¡±


    ¡° As ready as we¡¯re going to be.¡± Meisha replied. ¡°Which lane?¡±


    The station officer laughed. ¡°That ready, huh? Alright, lane 11. Reduce your thrust to 0, we¡¯re going to pull you in. Make sure your crew is sitting down.¡±


    Meisha nodded to Thorn. ¡°Sound the general warning, everyone take a seat. Gonna be a bumpy launch and I¡¯d rather not have Dr. Serrano working on patients so soon.¡± The Dauntless Midnight was guided into the massive starshot barrel, clamps coming down in its wingtips to stabilize it. ¡°Pirique, lock us down.¡± Meisha ordered. The woman nodded, and the view screens turned off momentarily, as to not damage the optics or the crew with the flash that was about to take place. Meisha turned to Anderson. ¡°All hatches, guns, and hangar doors secure?¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. Our inertial drives are running hot as well. We¡¯re ready for any sort of acceleration or stop.¡±


    Meisha nodded, glad that someone had remembered to make sure those were functioning. To be fired out of a Starshot at unimaginable speeds without the gravity wave field the drives created to protect them¡­ it would be a very painful death. She shook the resulting image out of her mind and smiled at her crew. ¡°Alright then, let''s get this show on the road. Ready when you are, Pacific.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Good luck, Dauntless Midnight. Y''all be safe now.¡± There was a massive roar as the station¡¯s warp cannon spun up, an impact, and the entire ship shuddered. In the blink of an eye, the Dauntless Midnight was gone.


    The crew knew something was wrong the moment the Dauntless Midnight hit Persues¡¯s deceleration ring. Or rather, what was left of it. As the ship slowed to a halt, the bridge¡¯s view screens came back online, casting the room in a deep orange glow from the nearby gas giant. The Persues starshot was eerily silent, and only a few lights could be seen along its hull. The starshot cannons were mangled, resembling piles of scrap and slag. One deceleration ring was completely gone, with wires sparking where it had once been. The ring the Dauntless Midnight had entered through was cracked in several places. Meisha¡¯s eyes widened at the station¡¯s damage. ¡°Holy shit.¡±


    Thorn glanced back from the pilot''s chair. ¡°Well we¡¯re here! But eh, well¡­¡± She shrugged. ¡°Place looks like it got hit by a swarm of angry meteorites.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t say¡­¡± Meisha murmured. She stood up and examined the view panels containing the station. ¡°Anderson, I want a scan and readout of that station as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± After a moment, one of the viewing panels switched over into a blueprint of the starshot station, showing multiple hull breaches and severe system damages.


    ¡°Pirique, anysign of the Lazy Drifter? Can we reach the local colony on the gas planet?¡±


    Pirique worked for a moment, then shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not detecting the recon ship anywhere, Ma¡¯am. Gas giant is giving off too much radio interference, I can¡¯t reach the colony or the station either. Their signal boosters must not be working correctly.¡±


    ¡°That''s not good.¡± Meisha paced back and forth across the bridge, crossing her arms. She stopped for a moment and tapped her foot, deep in thought. ¡°Pirique, contact Briggs on the comm please.¡±


    ¡°Uh, yes Ma¡¯am.¡±


    The comm cracked for a moment, and Briggs'' gruff voice came through the speaker. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re seeing what I¡¯m seeing, Captain?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Damaged Starshot station?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Looking at it through one of the external cameras. What''s the plan?¡±


    Meisha paused for a moment. ¡°I want you to take a dropship to the colony on the planet, find out what the hell happened here. I want to take a few squads and check out the interior of the starshot station. See what we can see, and meet back here.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re splitting up, Ma¡¯am? I don¡¯t think that''s advisable.¡±


    ¡°Well unless you want to enjoy a very very long flight back to the nearest starshot station, we need to figure out some way to leave this system.¡± There was a long pause.


    ¡°Alright Cap. Fair point, I¡¯ll prepare a team of troopers. We¡¯ll do a flyby of the colony and meet you back here.¡±


    Meisha stared at the giant orange planet on the cameras. ¡°I want you back in three hours, Briggs.¡±


    There was a distorted chuckle over the comms. ¡°You heard the lady, boys, she does care. Let''s get moving! First Platoon, transport one with me. Second platoon, you¡¯re traveling with the captain!¡± The comm cut off, and Meisha looked over at Pirique.


    ¡°Keep us in contact as long as possible. Let me know if anything comes up.¡±


    Pirique blinked. ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am, but is splitting up really that good of an idea? Especially with you leaving the ship-¡±


    ¡°Starshots are locked down in the event of an attack and only unlocked with Admiralty biometrics. Prevents pirates from taking them. We won¡¯t be able to enter unless a ranking official is there. Meaning I have to go.¡± Meisha stated matter of factly. She paused for a moment. ¡°Besides, I believe Briggs to be able to recon an area, and I trust you to handle the ship and crew while I take a look. We need to figure out if we can find a way to launch ourselves home. Won¡¯t do us any good to figure out what happened here if we¡¯re stuck.¡±


    ¡°As you say, ma¡¯am.¡± Pirique murmured. Meisha could tell the woman was nervous. She blinked for a moment, wondering what to say to help steel the crew¡¯s resolve.


    ¡°Eh, Thorn. Keep us around the starshot, I don¡¯t want to chase you to re-dock once we¡¯re finished.¡± She said. The pilot nodded, and Meisha gave a small smile. ¡°Well that¡¯s that, wish me luck.


    She made her way to the hangar bay, hastily pulling on her light exoarmor jumpsuit that was meant for situations such as this. The dark gray armor wouldn¡¯t protect against serious weaponry, but against small arms it would serve well, and also keep her atmosphere and oxygen stable in case she had to take a space walk. Her name and rank was posted on her right shoulder and breastplate, and the insignia of the Dauntless Midnight on her left. Her helmet hung at her hip, next to her sidearm as she zipped up the suit and sealed its armor, approaching Second Platoon.


    The troopers were all lined up wearing the same fashion armor, though theirs was much heavier. They held Type-74 Autoshot rifles; small, rapidfire recoilless guns that could chew through most armor while still being effective without sacrificing accuracy in zero G. Along with the Platoon, there were five men in REAPER suits, towering almost two feet above their comrades. Their black armor and silver visors made them somewhat unnerving to stand before, and on their backs sat massive Shredder cannons, weapons that fired superheated shrapnel at an alarming rate, capable of destroying anything from an enemy encampment to a building if need be. The downside of the armored suits was of course that they were slow. While they could take hits and deal massive damage, the men acted more like stationary defenses than troopers. They were walking shields half of the time, and they knew it. You had to be a certain sort of crazy to be a REAPER. A man jogged up as the men stood to attention, nodding at Meisha as she approached.


    ¡°Lieutenant Gabriels, Ma¡¯am.¡± He said, standing at attention. ¡°I¡¯m the commander of the Second Platoon. We¡¯re ready to drop when you are.¡±


    Meisha nodded, putting on her helmet and locking the air seals. ¡°Then let''s get moving, Gabriels. I¡¯m curious to see how the station is.¡± The man nodded and started to bark orders at the standing troops, who turned and started loading into the armored transport that sat in the bay. The sizable ship resembled a toy when compared to the Dauntless Midnight, but as troop carriers went, it was bulky with thick armor, and well armed. Regardless of what had happened to the Starshot cannon, Meisha felt like the transport would at least arrive safely. She made her way to the transport¡¯s cockpit, where the two pilots were checking flight systems. ¡°How¡¯s our flight path look?¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s a lot of debris between us and the station from¡­ Well, we¡¯re not sure. I¡¯m guessing it''s left over from whatever happened to the Starshot, but there¡¯s more debris than there should be if that was the case. So we¡¯re gonna have a bit of a rough entry.¡± The pilot glanced back at her. ¡°If you¡¯d take a seat, ma¡¯am. Everybody is locked in on my bird. No wandering in the cabin, even for you.¡±


    Meisha smiled underneath her helmet and gave a nod, going back and locking herself in with the troops. After a moment, she felt the transport lurch as its engines kicked in and launched it from the hangar bay. The only viewport was in the cockpit, so the troops in the transport bay sat only washed in dim lights, waiting for the clear landing signal. The uneasiness of sitting there, not being able to see around bothered Meisha, and a few of the troops seemed to notice.


    ¡°Never been in a V11 Transport before, captain?¡± One trooper asked mockingly.


    Meisha¡¯s eyes narrowed at the trooper. ¡°No I haven¡¯t, private. When I commanded my old ship, I had to take a spacewalk to go anywhere outside my ship. Didn¡¯t have the luxury of a transport.¡±


    The man gave a quiet laugh. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you officers took spacewalks.¡±


    ¡°I commanded a very small, very old transport ship with a crew of 10. I didn¡¯t have extra people to just send out and fix things when we felt like it. So if something broke¡­¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°I went out to help fix it.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t spacewalks dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Very. One stray meteor, one sharp object, one wrong movement, and you¡¯re gone.¡±


    The man seemed to quiet down, looking away as Meisha stared him down. After a moment, one of the pilots spoke over the com channel. ¡°Speaking of spacewalks, we¡¯re going to need somebody to take one. The starshot¡¯s shuttle bay is sealed shut, the automated system isn¡¯t opening for us. We need someone to go out there and open the door manually. Should be an emergency crank close to the bay door. If we can force that open, we can land.¡±


    There was a moment of silence from the troopers, and Meisha laughed. ¡°Alright then, Private. It appears we have some work to do.¡±


    ¡°Wait, both of us?¡± The soldier sputtered.


    ¡°Why of course! After all, I can¡¯t go out there without a wingman!¡± Meisha chimed happily. ¡°Now let''s get in that airlock and go for a spacewalk!¡± She disengaged the seat lock and moved to the back of the transport, stepping inside the airlock separating the cabin from the exit. ¡°Pilots, vent us whenever you''re ready.¡±


    ¡°Roger.¡± Came the reply, and after a moment, a dull thump echoed through the room, as the door slid back, opening into the vacuum. Meisha turned to the private, tapping on the side of her helmet. ¡°Keep in constant contact, and follow me. Make sure your suit is set to magnetize to surfaces or else you¡¯ll hit the station and bounce right off.¡±


    The man nodded without saying a word, though Meisha could tell he was nervous. Meisha patted his shoulder. ¡°Come on, private. If an officer can do it, surely you can too.¡± She turned and leapt out of the transport, gliding through the empty darkness of space towards the starshot facility. She gave a slight shiver as her suit¡¯s heating coils kicked in to regulate her temperature. After around twenty seconds, she impacted on the side of the beat up station, relaxing as her suit magnetically attached her feet to the exterior plating. The private landed behind her, steady himself. He gave her a nod, and pointed over at the hangar bay door.


    ¡° I think I saw the emergency panel when we were coming in¡±


    ¡°By all means, lead the way.¡± Meisha said, gesturing for him to go ahead. The two awkwardly made their way towards the small hatch on the hull, where Meisha knelt down and tugged at the release. The hatch lifted, revealing a lever, which the private pulled. The large metal shutters started retracting.


    In an instant, the hangar doors slid open, explosively decompressing into the vacuum. The blast launched Meisha from the station, careening into the void. She barely had time to shout for help when the private grabbed her arm, and held on as the atmosphere continued to vent. After a few moments of sheer panic the force of the venting slowed, and the private pulled the startled captain back to the station¡¯s surface.


    ¡°You ok, Captain?¡±


    Meisha blinked a few times, pushing the fact that she was moments away from heading into deep space out of her head. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m alright, thanks to you. What¡¯s your name, private?¡±


    ¡°Donovan, Ma¡¯am.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡­ Thank you.¡±


    Donovan tapped a finger on the side of his helmet. ¡°Think nothing of it. You would have done the same, probably. Though with you being an officer, you probably would have missed.¡±


    Meisha shook her head, suppressing a small chuckle. ¡°Come on, let''s head into the hangar. Atmosphere venting like that means that the void shielding failed somehow.¡± The two pushed off the station, gliding into the hangar. Its lights were off, with only the dim red emergency lights casting what little glow they had on its interior. Most everything that wasn¡¯t bolted down had been blown into space, and what did remain appeared like it had almost never been used. The whole place seemed deserted, save for an exotic looking craft that sat off to the left of the hangar bay.


    ¡°Uh, Captain? Have you ever seen a ship like that?¡± Donovan asked cautiously. Meisha stared at it for a long time. The craft was long and sleek, looking almost akin to a Greek delta. The pair¡¯s external lights reflected off its silver and red surface.


    ¡°No¡­. I haven¡¯t.¡± She admitted after some hesitation. ¡°That''s new to me.¡± She drifted towards the hangar bay controls, and braced herself against the central terminal. ¡°Let''s get the Platoon in here before we investigate. Something here is very wrong.¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°Donovan, do you know anything about space stations?¡±


    Donovan looked over. ¡°Yeah, I grew up on Thessolus 4, orbiting Mars. Mining station.¡±


    ¡°Why would somebody want to turn off the void shield?¡±


    Donovan thought for a moment. "Power failure? The only time we ever messed with our void shields back home was when our solar array went down and we were on backup for a bit.  Sometimes we had to close down the secondary hangars to reroute power to essential systems. Could only keep one primary hangar shielded for emergencies, everything else went to life support.¡±


    ¡°Well this is the emergency bay.¡± Meisha mused. ¡°Maybe that''s the case?¡±


    ¡°I dunno, Cap. These starshot facilities are a lot more advanced than a mining colony. Completely different backup systems. Maybe-¡± Donovan¡¯s next words were cut off as bullets started to shred the ground around the two of them, loud thunderous roars filling the hangar bay. Meisha ducked behind the hangar bay console, cursing loudly as she pulled out her sidearm. Donovan jumped behind the strange ship, and glanced over at Meisha. ¡°Captain what the hell is firing on us?¡±  Meisha shook her head and peaked over the console, cursing as bullets shredded the wall behind her.


    ¡°Donovan I have no idea, just stay low!¡± She turned to poke her head out again, only to hear the dull whump of something impacting next to her. She looked down at the grenade and her eyes widened. ¡°Oh sh-¡± The concussion from the explosion, paired with the lack of gravity in the hangar, sent her flying clear into the opposite wall. Her right arm was in a lot of pain, and she knew her suit was leaking oxygen. ¡°-it.¡± She gasped, taking a shaky breath.She tried not to panic, using her left arm to fumble around the combat suit looking for the emergency sealant kit, while her right remained limp. The loudening fire around her was drowned out by the fear of suffocation and the pain in her arm.


    Donovan saw her hit the wall and rushed to help, firing randomly in the direction of their assailants, hoping to hit at least one of them. Before he could reach the captain, however, something massive flew into the hangar, retrorockets screaming as it tried to slow down. The hatch on its back slid open, and five massive, black clad individuals walked out, their armored boots denting the metal floor underneath as the boots magnets pulled them against the deck¡¯s plating. The REAPER unit had arrived.


    Whoever was firing switched from Donovan to these newcomers, washing them in a wave of bullets. The REAPERS shrugged off the attack as if it was raining, and turned their own shoulder mounted shredder cannons back in the same direction, literally lighting up the room with the volume of fire they shot back at the enemy. One soldier stomped his way over to where Meisha was desperately trying to patch her suit¡¯s leaks, and sprayed her arm with fast drying sealant that fired from the REAPER¡¯s wrist.


    ¡°Sergeant Lupus, of the Second Reaper company.¡± The man said, his gruff voice transmitting through the suit¡¯s communications network. ¡°Looks like we landed at the right time.¡±


    Meisha grit her teeth and gave a nod as her suit automatically jabbed some painkillers into her arm. ¡°You sure did.¡±


    ¡°I take it that you don¡¯t experience combat much, Captain.¡±


    ¡°Ship combat, once. Ground based? This would be my first time.¡± She winced, and stepped behind the armored man as more bullets impacted next to her. ¡°Did you manage to catch who was firing at us as you dropped in?¡±


    Sergeant Lupus turned, using the armor¡¯s massive shoulder plate as a shield. ¡°No, emergency lightning wasn¡¯t that helpful. All we know is that we¡¯re being attacked from the maintenance catwalks. They¡¯re above us.¡±


    ¡°Turn on any external lights those suits have.¡± Meisha growled. ¡°I wanna see who fragged me.¡± The soldier gave a single nod, and relayed the command to the rest of his team. In an instant, bright yellow lights illuminated every nook of the hangar bay. Meisha looked up at the catwalk. She cursed, seeing large metal clad figures positioned above, with spindly robotic arms and lights flickering across their body. ¡° Are those station security drones?¡±


    ¡°Sure looks like it.¡± Lupus growled. He aimed his shredder cannon at one, tearing it apart in a matter of seconds.


    ¡°Stand aside.¡± Meisha ordered. She stepped past the armored giant, pointing at the captain''s bars on her chest. ¡°Perseus Security! I am Captain Meisha Al-Jihlani of the United Colonial Defense Fleet, here under the authority of the Admiralty! Cease fire!¡±


    The firing died for a moment as the security drones processed this information. ¡°Credentials Rejected.¡± One announced in a synthetic, monotone voice. The firing opened back up, and Lupus hauled Meisha back behind himself as bullets started pinging off the Reaper armor.


    ¡°With all due respect, Captain, you command the ship. You aren¡¯t a ground officer, so get back to the ship.¡± the sergeant barked. ¡°My men can take these drones no problem, but they¡¯ll tear you up.¡±


    ¡°I can handle myself, you know.¡±


    Lupus grunted as a drone targeted him, a stream of bullets impacting his back and sending him stumbling forwards. He gave Meisha a sidelong glare, the helmet¡¯s red eye slits cutting into hers. ¡°You¡¯ve been blown up and almost killed twice, while distracting me from the fight. Head back to the transport and wait for my men and I to do our thing.We don¡¯t have time for your stubbornness.¡±


    Meisha let out a shaky breath, realizing Lupus was right. ¡°Of course, sorry Sergeant. Best of luck, radio when you¡¯ve cleared them.¡± She turned and sprinted back to the transport as the REAPER force engaged the drones. Donovan was in the airlock waiting for her, having come out of the firefight seemingly unharmed. The airlock sealed shut behind her, opening back up into the central transport bay where the rest of the ground force stood, checking their gear and preparing to disembark. ¡°Prepare to search the station right after the REAPER force is finished securing the hangar.¡± Meisha ordered as she passed Lieutenant Gabriels.


    He gave a nod, looking at her bloodstained suit. ¡°Are you alright Ma¡¯am?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± She murmured. ¡°Gonna check on the cams in the cockpit, see how the REAPERS are doing.¡± She shouldered her way into the cockpit, where the two transport pilots sat watching their exterior cameras. ¡°How are they holding up?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re holding ground.¡± One reported. He shook his head. ¡°Never seen mech security this aggressive before. Are we on the wrong station? Maybe this is like some corporation owned starshot or¡­¡± he trailed off, looking back at Meisha. ¡°I mean, why are they firing at us, Captain?¡±


    Meisha leaned in, her gaze set on the cameras. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± She reached past the pilot, zooming in on the station security force. ¡°That one to the left, what''s it holding?¡±


    The pilot glanced back. ¡°Oh, uh, not sure. It''s been messing with it for a while. Whatever it is, doesn¡¯t seem to be working.¡±


    ¡°Normal bots don¡¯t mess with things that intuitively.¡± The second pilot chimed in. ¡°That must be some prototype mech or something. Never seen a design like that before.¡±


    ¡°Get me a scan on that, now.¡± Meisha demanded, fear creeping into her voice. ¡°Cross reference it with everything in our database, I want to know what it''s holding, this instant.¡±


    The first pilot stretched. ¡°Roger that, boss.¡± He typed a few keywords into the transport¡¯s main terminal, and froze. The color drained from the man¡¯s face. ¡°Captain, that''s a thermonuclear asteroid mining charge. For M-class Trojan asteroids. Uhh¡­¡± he said in a shaky voice. ¡°Typically eighty megatons.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re going to destroy the station.¡± Meisha whispered. She gripped the back of the pilot¡¯s chair, steading herself as her mind raced trying to find a solution. ¡°Ok. Do we have any electromagnetic weapons on this craft?¡±


    ¡°Uh, no Ma¡¯am. Besides, those bots have a built-in faraday cage. EMP would only fry our own systems and most likely the hanger''s¡±


    Meisha tapped the screen. ¡°Yeah but that nuke has an electric fuse. If we can disable that, then we disable the nuke. A localized pulse would kill that fuse and keep the station¡­ well, as functional as it is I guess." She paused for a moment. "So a pulse; can we rig one?¡±


    The pilot grimaced.¡±I don¡¯t know ma¡¯am, maybe one of the engineers..?¡± Before he finished, Meisha was out the door.


    ¡°Gabriels, where are your field engineers?¡±


    ¡°Captain?¡± He paused for a moment. ¡°I have two, Donnovan and Reiya.¡± At the mention of his name, Donovan popped up.


    ¡°Need me again, Cap?¡±


    Meisha gave a single nod, and pointed at the woman who had stood up. ¡°Reiya? You too. We have a problem and I want a solution. There¡¯s a nuclear mining charge that could go off at any second. I want an EMP rigged to take its electronic fuse out. Can you do it?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d need a good capacitor, loads of copper wiring and a good solid iron bar¡­..¡± Reiya muttered. Donovan paced back and forth for a minute before snapping his fingers.


    ¡°A long range transmitter. We have a unit per platoon, they have enough copper wiring to make an EM coil and a great switch we can key at any time to pulse it.¡±


    ¡°No, that wouldn¡¯t work.¡± Reiya snapped. ¡°The capacitors are too small.¡±


    ¡°What about the backup hangar door controls? We rip one out of the wall, weld it to the EM coil to the transmitter, charge it up, and boom, we have ourselves a very strong pulse. One time use though, it¡¯ll fry the transmitter and everything around it.¡±


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Meisha snapped her fingers with her good hand, getting the attention of the two engineers. ¡°Great, so we can do it. How long?¡±


    Donovan peered at Reiya, who shrugged. ¡°It''s an easy job, actually. Two minutes to rig the EM coil, a minute to rip into the control panel, two minutes to replace and fill the capacitors?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead and start.¡± Meisha ordered. She slammed her helmet back on, grabbing one of the soldier¡¯s Autoshot rifles and heading for the airlock. Gabriels stepped in front of her.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, where do you think you¡¯re going?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m getting my REAPERS on this ship, and sending you all to safety.¡±


    Gabriels pointed at her injured arm. "You able to move that?"


    Meisha glanced down at it, almost having forgotten that her arm was in a sorry state. She flexed it, wincing as a dull ache broke through the haze of the painkillers. "I can move it enough." Gabriels studied her, then stepped aside with a nod. She stepped past him, and back into the battle that was raging across the hangar bay. Bullets pinged off the floor around her as she ran back to where Sergeant Lupus and his men were laying down fields of fire at the enemies above. He swore as he saw her small form darting through the debris.


    ¡°Dammit girl I told you to stay on the ship!¡± He roared. Meisha threw herself into cover next to him.


    ¡°They¡¯re prepping a nuke!¡± She shouted. ¡°And it could go at any second! Fall back to the transport, that''s an order.¡±


    Lupus swore loudly. ¡°Alright boys, you heard the lady, fall back one by one, I¡¯ll take rear guard. Move quickly.¡± One by one, the mighty REAPER suits fell back, leaving only the Sergeant and the captain to brave the enemy fire. ¡°Ok Cap, what now.¡± Lupus growled.


    ¡°You have a missile launcher, yeah? Launch at the fire suppression systems.¡±


    Lupus studied her. ¡°I would have thought of that sooner or later.¡± He swung the missile tube from his back onto his shoulder, and the REAPER¡¯s magboots clamped into the steel deck. With a roar, the rocket flew from its tube and slammed into the ceiling, popping the container of suppression foam used to put out fires on deck. In seconds, the room was filled with foam and mist, making it hard to read heat signatures or movements. Lupus grabbed Meisha¡¯s shoulder and shoved her forwards, catching up as she hit the ground running back to the transport. ¡°So what''s the plan now?¡±


    ¡°Reiya, Donovan, you ready¡± Meisha asked over the comms. The two came stumbling out of the transport¡¯s airlock as they approached, with Donovan holding a backpack sized device, a mess of wires spilling out.


    ¡°We¡¯re as ready as we¡¯re going to be.¡±


    Meisha gave a nod, and contacted the pilots. ¡°Lift off. Circle for ten minutes. If the station hasn¡¯t exploded by then, come back in for us.¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am, good luck.¡± The transport rose, its engines roaring as it pulled out of the hangar, blind fire pinging off its sides.


    She turned back to the engineers. ¡°Right, this control panel, where is it?¡±


    ¡°Along the wall, near the doors.¡± Reiya said, pointing to where the hangar led into the vacuum of space. Meisha turned to Lupus.


    ¡°Get us there.¡±


    Lupus said nothing, but grabbed Donovan with one massive arm. ¡°Hold on kid.¡± He grunted, and flung the engineer across. As Donovan neared the panel, he reactivated his mag boots, stabilizing himself and started to cut the wall panel off. Reiya joined him a second later by the same method.


    ¡°Two minutes!¡± The engineer shouted. Meisha huddled behind Lupus as the fire suppressant began to clear, letting his armor take the brunt of the small arms fire.


    ¡°Lupus.¡± She said, ¡°How much shredder ammo do you have left?¡±  The armored man grunted as another hail of bullets slammed into the armor.


    ¡°Enough for one or two more volleys on the area.¡± He growled. ¡°But they''re resilient. No matter how much I pierce their armor, they have backup systems. They take a massive amount of damage.¡±


    Meisha grabbed his arm. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to destroy them. Shred their armor. Turn them into swiss cheese. Aim at them all except the one with the nuke. If we can bust their faraday cages up enough, the EM pulse will fry them along with the nuke¡¯s fuse. Should at least disrupt them for a bit, long enough for us to put them down.¡±


    ¡°Roger that Captain.¡± Lupus said. His shredder cannon spun up, shooting hundreds of rounds at the robots. Meisha turned back to the engineers.


    ¡°How much longer?¡±


    ¡°Almost there, I just have to hook the capacitor to the switch¡­.. Done!¡± Donovan yelled triumphantly. ¡°Throwing it over, cap, be ready to catch it.¡± He sent the device floating through the zero g room, slowly tumbling.


    Meisha jumped and grabbed it, using Lupus¡¯s shoulder to pull herself back to the hangar¡¯s deck. ¡°Alright Sergeant, send me in.¡±


    ¡°What? You¡¯re insane. They¡¯ll kill you before you ever make it up there. Those guns will tear your suit to shreds.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a better idea?¡± Meisha snapped.


    ¡°I do.¡± Lupus growled. He slammed his armored boot into the deck plating, stomping until the thick steel plate bent inwards. He grabbed the edge and pulled with every servo in his REAPER suit screaming. The plating tore away, and he held it up like a massive shield. ¡°Here you go, Cap. Grab on.¡±


    Meisha¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Oh you can¡¯t be serious.¡±


    ¡°That nuke could go off at any minute and you wanna argue? Grab on.¡±


    Meisha shook her head and braced herself against the metal plate, clicking her mag boots and gloves to its surface. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m ready.¡± With a grunt, Lupus threw the plate with all his might. It soared through the air towards the enemies on the catwalk above. Meisha grimanced as bullets started to ping off, realizing that Lupus had just saved her life. ¡°Right.¡± She muttered. ¡°Hit the switch, trigger the EMP. Simple. Please don¡¯t let them detonate the nuke now of all times. Not when we¡¯re so close.¡± The impacting bullets slowed the plate as it continued its path. ¡°Come on, a few more seconds¡± Meisha though. As soon as she saw the railing of the catwalk pass underneath her, she activated her mag boots and slammed the plate down in front of her, using it as cover. ¡°This had better work!¡± She shouted to nobody in particular, and activated the comms unit.


    The electromagnetic pulse was more powerful than Meisha had thought. Nor had she thought of the possibility that it would affect her own suit as well. The lights in her helmet were the first to blow out, followed by the temperature system, oxygen regulation, communications, and her magboots, everything dying within milliseconds of each other. The emergency lights in the hangar sparked and died, and the roar of fire cut away to an eerie silence. Meisha slowly rose to her feet, pushing herself off the ground and grabbing the rail to steady herself. Behind her, Lupus was making some sort of hand motion, but with a dead comms unit it was useless. She glanced at the security robots that were slumped down, their faraday cages damaged enough to let the EMP in. Her eyes passed over the nuclear mine, and the strange robot that had been trying to activate it. ¡°There you are, you bastard¡± She growled, and pushed herself in that direction. She drifted over to the robot and grabbed the mining charge, still clutched in one of its hands. ¡°Come on, let go.¡± She murmured, pulling out her combat knife and slashing at its wrist. After a few hacks the robot¡¯s hand finally severed, and Meisha turned to where Lupus and the engineers stood, tossing it down to them. Lupus raised his arms in a ¡°What the Hell¡± motion. ¡°Throw it off the station¡± Meisha cursed, knowing that he couldn¡¯t hear her. That''s when the other robotic hand grabbed her by the throat.


    Meisha¡¯s eyes widened as the robot stood up, its eyes flaring blue as it studied her. Her hands went to her throat, trying to pry the bot''s hands off to no effect. ¡°Did you follow her here?¡± It growled, touching its head to hers to allow the soundwaves to pass through the helmet.


    She stopped struggling for a moment, thrown by the question. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The Dragon of the Abyss. Did she lead you here? Where is she?¡± The robot asked, its voice full of anger.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!¡± Meisha gasped. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t even be able to ask questions like this.¡±


    The robot paused, and started to squeeze Meisha¡¯s neck more. ¡°You will not stop us. Your time is at an end, human. It''s time for-¡± whatever it was going to say was cut off as bullets slammed into its side. Using that distraction, Meisha brought her combat knife up and slashed repeatedly at its elbow, using all of her might in the desperate hope to sever the joint. As the blade bit through the elbow¡¯s wiring, the robot¡¯s grip loosened and Meisha pushed herself off it, using the lack of gravity to escape and allow her to catch her breath. As she floated through the hangar, something grabbed her, and started pulling her back to the floor. Meisha looked down to see Lupus, having deactivated his mag boots for a moment to launch himself up. He reactivated his boots and pulled her to the ground, pressing his helmet to hers.


    ¡°Take cover!¡± He ordered. Meisha nodded and pulled herself to the ground, not a moment too soon. A dull roar opened up through the hangar as the transport ship flew back into the hangar, its defense turrets shredding the catwalk and anything on it. The robot shuttered and fell, its eyes going dim. After firing for what seemed like an eternity, the ship landed, opening its ramps to allow the rest of the REAPER unit to redeploy, this time with the rest of Gabriel''s troopers. As the men moved to secure the hangar, Gabriels helped Meisha back into the transport, followed by Lupus and the engineers. Once inside, Meisha took her helmet off and looked back at them.


    ¡°What happened to the nuke?¡±


    ¡°I disarmed it while Lupus and Reiya helped you deal with that bot.¡± Donnovan stated.


    Lupus nodded at Meisha¡¯s suit. ¡°How bad is it fried?¡±


    ¡°Destroyed completely. No functionality on anything.¡±


    Reiya cursed, stepping up and opening one of the electronic panels on the suit¡¯s back. ¡°We have some extra supplies on board, I should be able to repair your mag boots, lights, comms and oxygen. Won¡¯t be perfect though, so I hope you have a spare suit on board the Midnight. Preferably one with more armor.¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°That bot should have been fried like the rest of them.¡±


    Shaking her head, Meisha looked at Gabriels and Lupus. ¡°That robot was malfunctioning.¡±


    ¡°Well obviously.¡± Gabriels said with a chuckle.¡±It was firing upon fleet personnel.¡±


    Meisha shot him a dirty look. ¡°More than that. It spoke to me¡­ asked me if we had followed someone.¡±


    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be possible.¡± Donnovan said hesitantly. ¡°It was a basic defense robot. They¡¯re on every Starshot station; they have basic combat AI but nothing crazy or intelligent. They can¡¯t ask questions, only respond to basic commands.¡±


    ¡°It asked.¡± Meisha whispered, her mind going to the helplessness she felt only moments before. ¡°It asked me if we had followed a¡­ dragon? It was¡­¡± She hesitated for a moment. ¡°It was angry.¡±


    Lupus paused. ¡°Reiya check her suit¡¯s O2 levels, see if she was starting to become delirious.¡± Reiya surveyed a few gauges and shook her head.


    ¡°No sir. She still has most of her tank left, plenty of O2.¡±


    Meisha stared hard at Lupus. ¡°I know what I heard, Sergeant. I think it''s safe to say that based on the greeting we received here, somebody doesn¡¯t want us to see it.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it was remotely controlled?¡± Gabriels asked. ¡°It''s possible, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it''s possible.¡± Reiya admitted.


    Meisha took a deep breath, and sighed. ¡°We need to board and see what happened. As soon as my suit is fixed, we¡¯ll enter and see what we can find.¡±


    ¡°With all due respect.¡± Lupus started to say. Meisha cut him off with a glare.


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t go back to the Midnight and let you handle whatever happens here. I want to see everything firsthand.¡±


    Lupus gave a solid nod. ¡°Alright then Cap. In that case, fix her up quick Reiya, and let''s see what the hell happened.¡±


    It took a few hours and a lot of technical expertise from Gabriels men to pressurize the hangar. After some cursing and a few mishaps,  they were able to close the emergency doors and pump in some air. Several troopers removed their helmets, grateful to breathe in air that didn''t filter through their stale suits.


    Plasma torches had been working away at the inner airlock which had been fused shut. While all of this was taking place, Meisha was inspecting the strange ship that was docked in the hangar. She shook her head, running her hand along its exterior while Donnovan searched for the entrance hatch.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, Ma¡¯am.¡± he murmured. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a ship like this. Nothing is even coming close to a match in our database.¡±


    ¡°So it''s a custom ship?¡±


    The engineer shrugged. ¡°Maybe? Judging from the size, I¡¯d say it''s an armed yacht? Big enough for someone to live on. But a ship like this must have cost billions, and I can¡¯t even find an entrance. Tried cutting into it with the plasma torches but this thing¡¯s armor is unbreakable.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to take it with us when we¡¯re done here then.¡± Meisha said. She looked over to where Gabriel''s men were cutting into the airlock. ¡°They should be done soon, get ready. I want you to try and stabilize the power with Reiya once we pop this door open.¡±


    ¡°Copy that boss.¡±


    Meisha walked over to where the cutting was taking place, and stood next to Gabriels. ¡°How are we looking?¡±


    ¡°Should be done any minute now. We¡¯ve secured the hangar, but the emergency station shuttle is gone. Command center should let us know where it is when we reach there.¡± He nodded at the strange ship. ¡°Figure out anything about that?¡±


    ¡°Not much, no. Figured we¡¯d take it with us when we-¡±


    At that moment, the airlock door fell to the floor with a thundering crash. The sharp smell of iron and decomposition seeped out of the dark airlock, causing a few of the men to scramble back, gagging. Meisha herself stepped back, covering her face with her arm.


    ¡°Holy hell.¡± Gabriels moaned, retching. Meisha put her helmet back on, and switched its external oxygen scrubbers.


    ¡°Deploy some lights in here.¡± She ordered. A few of the troopers donned their helmets, shining flashlights into the airlock. It was a gruesome sight: bodies strewn across the ground with pools of blood and other liquids collecting in corners. Bullet holes pocket marked the walls and floor where bodies had fallen. Out of all of the gore, only a handful of the bodies were even recognizable as human. Meisha¡¯s eyes were filled with horror as she stepped into the airlock. She fought the urge to retch and let out a string of profanity to keep herself from throwing up. ¡°What the f-¡±


    One of the field medics crouched next to a body, and started studying it with his light. ¡°They¡¯ve been dead for at least a week, if my estimate is right. Those security bots¡¯ guns must have mulched the hell out of them.¡±


    ¡°Looks like they pushed everyone into the airlock. Created a chokepoint, like shooting fish in a barrel.¡± Lupus growled. He stepped past the group of smaller soldiers, shining his suit¡¯s lights further down the hallway. ¡°Not as much death this way, Cap. Should be simple to find our way to the command center unless we run into any more bots.¡±


    ¡°Right. Lupus, take our engineers down to the reactor and see if we can crank any more juice into this station. Gabriels, send a fireteam with them, and the rest come with us to the command center.¡± As Gabriels started issuing orders, something flashed out of the corner of Meisha¡¯s vision. She turned and stared down the hallway, staring hard into the darkness. After a second, she saw it again; just barely in the cone of light from the troopers was a human figure, running away. She bolted after it.


    She heard Gabriels shouting after her, but didn¡¯t slow down. The figure wasn¡¯t faster than her, and as she gained on them, her flashlight lit up a torn and bloody jumpsuit of a station worker. ¡°Hey, stop!¡± She shouted. The figure in the jumpsuit did not. Meisha uttered a few curses under her breath and sped up, pushing herself into a full blown sprint, and getting close enough to jump at them. She grabbed the figure from behind and tackled them to the ground, rolling a couple feet as the figure grabbed onto her and started to struggle. Meisha shined her light into the person¡¯s face, and was met with the terrified eyes of a middle aged man, covered with dried blood.


    ¡°Leave me alone.¡± He sobbed. ¡°Leave me alone, don¡¯t kill me.¡±


    Meisha grabbed his arms, trying to settle him down. ¡°Calm down, I¡¯m not here to kill you. I¡¯m from the Fleet.¡± The man continued to struggle hard.


    ¡°The fleet? Like the security robots that were supposed to protect us? Leave me alone.¡± He cried. Meisha scrambled back, drawing her pistol from her hip and aiming at his chest.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to have to hurt you.¡± She said in as calm a tone she could muster. ¡°Calm down. We¡¯re here to help but I can¡¯t do that if you¡¯re fighting me.¡± The man froze, breathing hard.


    With one hand, Meisha took off her helmet and set it on the ground, keeping the gun aimed. ¡°I¡¯m not a security bot, see? Flesh and blood, just like you.¡±


    The man looked puzzled for a second, and then seemed to regain some sort of sanity. ¡°You aren¡¯t one of them. You¡¯re like her.¡±


    ¡°Her?¡± Meisha furrowed her brow, holding up her hand as Gabriels and a fireteam rounded the corner. ¡°The security bots mentioned a woman. Who was she? And who are you?¡± She hesitated for a moment. ¡°Hell, what happened here?¡±


    His eyes flicking between Gabriels men and Meisha, the man slowly stood up. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m Chief technician Mathew Engales. I was in charge of making sure that things stayed running around here.¡± He drew in a shaky breath. ¡°We received a weird call from The Admiralty, telling us to cease all incoming and outgoing traffic from the Starshot, even the deceleration rings. They claimed it was for some sort of system update, so we did it. A few hours later, the security bots went crazy. I was outside at the time, working on one of our radar sensors when it happened. I could¡­ I could feel the station shaking, I thought we were being attacked by pirates at first, but then the shouting on the comm channels started. Everybody was trying to make it to the station shuttle to escape, but the airlocks wouldn¡¯t open. The station was under lockdown.¡±


    ¡°The station shuttle isn¡¯t there anymore.¡± Meisha murmured. ¡°Is it possible some of your colleagues made it inside?¡±


    Engales shook his head, still looking back and forth between Meisha and her troopers. ¡°No, the CEO took the shuttle down to the planet.


    Gabriels stepped forwards, lowering his gun. ¡°CEO? Like, the CEO of the gas mining company for the colony?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, she was strange. She landed in the hangar a day or so after the bots started their rampage. I was low on air at that point, using the shuttle for extra air and life support. Couldn¡¯t take off; the launch keys were still in the station. She helped me inside, told me to make sure one of the deceleration rings stayed on no matter what, then led the bots into the hangar while I sealed the door from the inside. She left her ship here and took the shuttle down to the planet.¡±


    ¡°How long ago was that?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± Engales admitted. ¡°Maybe five or six days? You¡¯re the first living people I¡¯ve seen since then.¡± He blinked his eyes a few times. ¡°You really are here to help?¡±


    Meisha cast a sideways glance over at Gabriels. ¡°We¡¯re here because we lost contact with the colony below. Part of my team is checking it out now, but this facility looks like it took quite a bit of damage. The starshot tubes are gone and the deceleration rings are all but disintegrated.¡±


    ¡°There was shaking a few days ago I think. The crew quarters decompressed, along with a lot of our supplies.¡± The technician exclaimed, wide eyed. ¡°I saw them, while I was outside. They had weird ships, three of them heading straight for the planet.¡±


    ¡°Pirates.¡± Gabriels muttered. ¡°This makes a lot of sense. Section off a colony and hit it as many times as possible before a fleet ship arrives. I bet they turned and burned as far away from here as possible as soon as we arrived in the system.¡±


    Meisha cursed, holstering her sidearm. ¡°Just our luck. At least we have a vague understanding of what happened here. Engales, does this station¡¯s comms ping planetside? My ship was having issues breaking through earlier; I¡¯d like to check up on my crew.¡±


    The man seemed distracted, lost in thought. ¡°The control room has everything. Whatever you need is in the control room.¡±


    ¡°Great, some good news at last. Can you lead us to the control room?¡± Meisha turned to Gabriels. ¡°Make sure our engineers get that reactor humming. Doesn¡¯t need to be full power, or even last long, but I want to be able to beam that signal soon. No use hanging around here.¡±


    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± The Lieutenant hesitated. ¡°The Dauntless Midnight is still on standby.  Should I update them on what we¡¯ve found?¡±


    Meisha cursed herself for forgetting about the ship. ¡°Yes, have them keep an eye on the radar and comms, tell them to watch for possible pirate activity.¡±


    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± Gabriels saluted, and motioned two troopers to follow him as he headed back down the hallway. Meisha nodded at Engales.


    ¡°Alright, lead the way.¡±


    The Starshot¡¯s command center was a mess of sparking wires and shattered screens. The giant star chart displays on the wall were pocket marked with bullet holes, and the consoles where the crew used to sit showed signs of a very brutal attack. Bodies still slumped in their seats, and one in particular was crushed underneath an oversized computer. Engales choked when he saw it, tears welling up in his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s Henry Kamroc, the station director.¡± He sniffled. ¡°He was a good man.¡± Meisha averted her gaze from the crumpled body, and studied the room.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be lucky if we find a working clock in this mess.¡± She said with a curse. ¡°Fan out, check these consoles and see if we ended up getting lucky.¡± Her escort of troopers started spreading out, and she turned back to Engales. ¡°You said that you were a techie, right?¡± The man didn¡¯t respond, having given into whatever thoughts were going through his head. Meisha frowned. While the man had gone through an insane amount of suffering the past week, she needed him as focused as possible. ¡°Engales!¡± She snapped. The man¡¯s head shot up.


    ¡°Uh, yes, I¡¯m a technician.¡±


    ¡°If we can¡¯t find one of these working consoles, we may need you to fix one. You know the starshot system more than we do.¡±


    Engales blinked. ¡°You want to call the planet? You can¡¯t do that though, it might wake them up.¡±


    ¡°...What?¡±


    ¡°The things that hacked the security bots. You¡¯ll wake them up, then they¡¯ll come back to finish the job.¡±


    Meisha stepped forwards, getting more worried that Engales was more shaken up than she had thought. ¡°Engales, they were pirates, and if they already hit once then they won¡¯t be back for a long time. We¡¯re safe.¡±


    ¡°Liar!¡± He snarled. Meisha stepped away from him, putting her hand back on her sidearm. The rest of the soldiers looked up at the commotion. ¡°What is the Admiralty hiding from us? The robots spoke to me, captain! I could hear them over the radio channels, taunting me. They told me we were going to be left behind. What are you hiding from me?¡±


    ¡°Engales, calm down. We¡¯re still trying to figure out the situation, as soon as we learn something about the pirates that-¡±


    ¡°They weren¡¯t pirates!¡± He howled, grabbing a long jagged piece of metal. ¡°They were not human! You¡¯re hiding something, tell me now! What did you do to us?¡±


    ¡°Do to you? Engales, please listen! We haven¡¯t done anything, we¡¯re only here to check on the colony!¡± Meisha pleaded. A few of the soldiers started to raise their weapons but Meisha gestured for them to keep their guns lowered. ¡°Look, Engales. Matthew. Some crazy, messed up stuff happened here, and I¡¯m sorry, I really am, ok? But all I need to do is contact my ground team, then we can move you to a med bay and¡­¡±


    ¡°What, so you can make sure I don¡¯t remember?¡± He spat. He was gripping the sharp metal so tightly that blood was dripping from his fist. ¡°If you won¡¯t tell me the truth¡­ then I¡¯ll cut it out of you.¡±


    ¡°Engales, please-¡± With a scream of rage, Engales charged the captain with his makeshift knife. Meisha¡¯s eyes widened in fear, and she drew her pistol. As the raging man grew nearer, she did the one thing she never expected herself to do: She froze.


    GLOW GLOW


    The thunderous shots echoed through the room, leaving it in an eerie stillness. The rest of the soldiers looked on as Meisha breathed hard, her gun still aimed at where Engales would have been. Lupus lowered his still smoking autocannon, and put his hand on the young captain¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡° It hits differently, doesn¡¯t it?¡± He grunted.


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t an enemy¡­ he was-¡±


    ¡°He was insane.¡± Lupus said, pushing Meisha¡¯s gun down. ¡°He would have slit your throat while you were still working up the resolve to put a bullet in his brain. He wasn¡¯t thinking straight.


    ¡°I should have had him evac¡¯d.¡±


    Lupus shrugged. ¡°Should have, would have, could have. In the end, none of it matters. He¡¯s gone now, the station had no survivors. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± He said, the last part much louder.


    ¡°Sir yes sir!¡± The soldiers shouted back. Lupus turned back to Meisha.


    ¡°Permission to speak freely?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been doing that already.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an idiot. I don¡¯t know how you managed to pull off the ambush with your old crew, but I don¡¯t believe for a second that you have anything worthwhile to provide as a leader. You throw yourself into situations that you¡¯re not equipped for. You have no real experience leading this sort of op, and you¡¯re going to end up getting yourself killed, and us along with you.¡±


    Meisha grit her teeth, trying to stay calm. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you feel that way, Sergeant.¡±


    Lupus pointed at the body. ¡°Next time you end up in that position, Briggs will be taking command of the ship. Tighten it up or we are all going to have a bad day.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the advice.¡± Meisha growled.


    ¡°No problem, Cap. Now, your orders?¡±


    Meisha took a deep breath and refocused herself. ¡°Right, did Donnovan and Reiya manage to squeeze any extra juice out of the reactor?¡±


    ¡°Not much, this place is trashed. Reiya was shocked that the reactor hasn¡¯t gone critical yet, with the amount of damage the systems have taken. We should be able to beam a message out though.¡±


    One of the soldiers looked up from his search. ¡°Captain! Sergeant! I have a working terminal over here!¡± He shrugged. ¡°It''s busted up bad, but I think it¡¯ll work.¡± Meisha moved over to where he was and looked over his shoulder as the soldier checked out the terminal. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like we¡¯ll be able to log in without security clearance.¡± He muttered.


    ¡°Would an employee ID work?¡± Lupus asked.


    The soldier shrugged. ¡°Could try it, sir.¡± Lupus grunted and crouched down next to Engales blood covered body, patting it down for a moment before pulling out a thin translucent data card. Meisha fought the urge to turn away, not wanting the troopers in the room to think that she had a weak stomach as well as a lack of experience. Lupus gave the data card to the soldier, who slotted it into the machine. ¡°We¡¯re in!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°We don¡¯t have access to a lot of the system unfortunately¡­ station security, starshot controls, those we don¡¯t have high enough clearance for.¡±


    ¡°What do we have access to?¡±


    ¡°Radar, Ladar, station inventory and manifests, engineering logs, system Qcomms¡­ generally things used for station maintenance and tracking of flights.¡±


    Meisha pursed her lips, thinking. ¡°Pull up any docking and delivery in the past month.¡±


    The soldier nodded and input Meisha¡¯s criteria into the terminal. Three results pulled up, one highlighted red. ¡°Looks like Admiralty had a lower rank admiral inspect the station near the beginning of the month. They were only docked for a few hours, so couldn¡¯t have been major. Next delivery is a¡­¡± The soldier paused. ¡°A trade in replacement for station security robots.¡± Lupus looked over at Meisha, who said nothing. ¡°Last one is an emergency alert. Unidentified, unregistered landing, and subsequent departing of the stational shuttle.¡± The group was quiet for a moment, before Meisha cleared her throat.


    ¡°Right, back up the data and beam it to The Midnight. Then give me a system scan with the Radar and Ladar, and let''s see if we can break through that colony¡¯s interference.¡±


    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± The soldier ran a few commands. ¡°Radars showing nothing but the Midnight in the system at the moment, whoever shot the heck out of the station is either well hidden or long gone.¡± He frowned. ¡°Our comms beam is strong enough to penetrate the gas clouds, but¡­ Ma¡¯am, I¡¯m not getting anything.¡±


    ¡°Nothing? As in nothing from Lieutenant Briggs, or nothing from the mining colony?¡±


    The soldier turned around with a worried expression on his face. ¡°Neither. No communication from the LT, no automatic communications from mining equipment¡­ nothing. Not a single man made radio pulse.¡±


    Meisha froze for a moment. ¡°Something is majorly wrong.¡± She murmured. She opened her coms channel to the Midnight¡¯s command frequency. ¡°Pirique, I¡¯m having the data we have access to beaming to you as we speak, look over it and have the crew keep an eye on the systemwide radar. Gabriels, pull your troops and regroup in the hangar bay, and have the pilots start warming up for takeoff. We¡¯ve officially lost contact with our recon team and we¡¯re heading planetside.¡±


    The transport ship was quiet, with an air of worry and excitement as it pulled out of the Starshot¡¯s emergency hangar. The one thing left behind on the station was the foreign ship, still waiting for its owner to return. Meisha walked past her troops and poked her head into the cockpit, watching the large gas giant grow closer. Its orange light seeped into the dim ship, giving everything an eerie shadow.


    Her thoughts were solely focused on the ship that had taken this flight before her; Briggs and his troopers had flown this same flightpath. The thought that something might have happened to them, and that Meisha may have sent half of her troops to their deaths on her first assignment was nagging at the back of her mind. She shook her head and attempted to push the perturbations from her mind. The transport ship¡¯s pilots, unaware of their captain¡¯s struggle, looked back at her as they got closer and closer.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, we¡¯re about to be entering the atmosphere and this is gonna go from a very smooth ride to a very bumpy one. You should really sit down.¡±


    ¡°Ok, but stream the entry camera to my helmet feed, I want to watch our descent.¡± One of the pilots nodded and tapped on his console.


    ¡°Rog, captain. You should be able to watch the whole thing now.¡±


    Meisha made her way back to her seat, where Lupus was checking his rifle. ¡°How¡¯s it looking, Cap?¡± He asked gruffly. Meisha shrugged.


    ¡°For a gas giant, it''s a scenic planet. The colony is about a ten minute ride from where we¡¯ll be entering the atmosphere, and I¡¯ve instructed us to go in with comms open in case we¡¯re somehow not receiving.¡± She surveyed the room, while troops fidgeted. ¡°We¡¯ll take this slow and steady, I need everyone to be alert. Any detail is important.¡±


    The intercom clicked on. ¡°Right, we¡¯re about to enter the atmosphere.¡± One of the pilots said. ¡°Everyone, helmets on, make sure your gear is stowed tight and that you¡¯re strapped in. Nobody is dying on my ship. We¡¯ll be entering in five, four, three, two, one.¡± Before the last word even left the pilot¡¯s mouth, the whole craft shook. Every person was thrown in their seat, straining against the restraints in their chairs as the planet''s immense gravity tugged on them.


    The temperature in the room grew, and the dim lights flickered. Beside Meisha, Lupus muttered curses under his breath, gripping tightly to his chair. Donnovan was passed out in his chair, while Gabriels was just bouncing his leg, impatiently waiting for the drop to be over. Meisha¡¯s eyes were transfixed on the display on her helmet, watching the descent from the ship¡¯s point of view. The planet was a never ending ocean of clouds, some drifting by lazily while others sped past at incredible speeds. The orange glow was softer in the atmosphere, nowhere near as harsh as it was from space.


    As the ship shook and rocked in the turbulence, Meisha¡¯s eye¡¯s caught something on the camera: a small blue speck, growing brighter and brighter. She furrowed her brow, trying to determine what it was.


    ¡°Hey guys, check out that blue light, twelve o,clock, about forty five degrees below us.¡±


    ¡°What is that?¡± One of the pilots asked curiously. ¡°Another ship¡¯s engine? Are we seeing their rocket trail?¡±


    ¡°No, it''s getting brighter, if it was another ship it wouldn¡¯t be changing.¡± The other answered.


    ¡°The mining colony then?¡±


    ¡°No, that should be in view in about thirty seconds to our right. Maybe a planetary anomaly?¡±


    Meisha¡¯s eyes widened as the light grew brighter and brighter. ¡°It''s something coming right at us. Divert from the flight path, now.¡±


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Do it!¡± Meisha shouted. She unhooked her restraint, gritting her teeth as she stumbled against the turbulence. Making her way into the cockpit, she braced herself in the doorframe, staring out the window as the pilots pulled left. The light followed them, and Meisha could see exactly how fast it was.


    ¡°What the hell is that!¡± One of the pilots growled as the light swung its course to match the transports. ¡°It''s on an intercept course, is that a missile?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell with all these damned clouds in the way.¡± The other said, sending the transport into a dive. The light again shifted directions, this time orienting itself right in front of them.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Meisha cried, but it was too late. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The light burst from the clouds, revealing itself to be a small cylinder with a rocket attached to it. The transport, with all of its speed and momentum from entering the atmosphere, couldn¡¯t change its course fast enough. As the ship plummeted towards the cylinder, its two halves split, a red beam of energy arcing in between them. The ship hit it nose first, and the energy slit through it straight down the middle, like a hot knife through butter.


    At first, nothing happened. Then the pilot on the left slumped over, blood pouring from him onto the console. Meisha stared in horror as the ship began to split, now separated into two halves. Consoles sparked as the two halves pulled apart, engines still running. The living pilot cursed and fought to regain control of his half, but the ship had started to roll, now lacking its one wing. Meisha stared as half of her troops, along with the second half of the ship, descended into a roll in the distance. She gripped tightly to the doorframe as their roll got stronger and stronger. The pilot turned to look at her.


    ¡°Captain-¡± As he began to speak, one of the consoles shorted out and exploded into shrapnel, slamming into both him and Meisha. Meisha cried out as the metal shards pierced her suit, one slamming and cracking her helmet, shattering the glass. The force of it tore her from the doorframe, and the momentum of the roll sent her flying into the planet¡¯s atmosphere. She screamed as the planet¡¯s hot gasses entered her lungs, arms flailing as she struggled to find some way to survive. She started suffocating, oxygen escaping through her shattered helmet.


    As her vision dimmed, she saw the whole tragedy unfold: two halves of the transport ship, with other soldiers still restrained in each respective half, unable to escape, unable to survive. A floating steel platform in the distance with lights blinking and flashing. The mining colony¡­ they had been so close. Something blurry shifted at the corner of her vision, and the cylinder with the blue light resealed itself and headed in that direction.She tried to crane her head to see, but more gas forced its way into her lungs and she coughed, breathing in even more of it. It was too much for the young captain. Meisha took in one last breath and gave up struggling, closing her eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She whispered, her voice hoarse. Her world went black and she let herself fall.

 Fubuki

    She had never been in this much agony in her life. Meisha awoke, propped up against a cold steel floor in some vast hallway. With each ragged breath she took, sharp pain spread through her chest and throat. The young captain whimpered, which was a mistake as even making the smallest noise hurt. She opened her eyes while blinking back tears, her vision blurry and disoriented. Something red and gray on the edge of her vision was moving, and as it got closer, she could finally make out what it was.


    A pale woman was leaning over her, somewhat shadowed by the gas giant¡¯s orange clouds floating past outside the windows of the room they were in. The woman had the strangest pair of eyes she had seen. An orange ring separated the pupil from the stormy gray iris. The eyes stared back into Meisha¡¯s, concern clearly showing.


    Meisha blinked, trying to clear her head and focus on the rest of whoever was looking at her. The rest of the woman was as unique as her eyes. She wore a silver space helmet with its visor retracted, revealing only an attractive face. Blinking again, Meisha could see that the woman wore a red dress, seeming to more fit a socialite than a miner. Underneath that, the woman had a lightly armored spacesuit on, with an old fashioned gun holster on one hip and a long, strange sheathe on the other. By far this was the most interesting, mismatched individual that Meisha had seen. As she stared up at the woman¡¯s face, the stranger smiled.


    "You¡¯re actually alive¡­ I had my doubts, to be honest. You sucked in quite a bit of toxic gas.¡± The woman glanced away for a moment, studying her surroundings. She looked back at the injured captain. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I was in the area. Even with my help, I thought it would be too late for you.¡±


    Meisha tried to speak, but the woman shook her head. " You have an oxygen mask on, won''t be able to speak until I finish prepping this disinfectant." She flicked an inhaler like device that she held in one hand. "That hot gas burned the hell out of your face and lungs, and there''s enough bacteria in the air here to give you a very serious infection. This inhaler is standard issue medical mining equipment. It''ll give your throat and lungs a bit of a protective coat and relieve some of that pain. It¡¯ll also give you an adrenaline spike; help wake you up a bit. I think it''s aloe based?" She paused as if lost in thought. "I hope you aren''t allergic, that would be embarrassing."


    The woman spoke with a strange accent, one Meisha hadn''t heard before. The captain gave the smallest shake of her head, and the woman clapped her hands together. "No? Good! That''ll make this so much easier. For me, not for you. This is probably going to hurt. I''m going to take your mask off and hold this up, and I need you to bite it and breathe deeply, no matter how bad it hurts. If you take in any air beforehand, it could kill you. Understand?"


    Meisha gave a nod, and the woman unhooked her oxygen mask, quickly substituting it with the inhaler. Meisha took in a deep breath, and fought against screaming in pain as her throat and lungs felt like they were being lit on fire. "Again." The woman ordered. The captain breathed in again, blinking back tears and balling her fists. She kept breathing, and the pain eventually started to fade, going from a fierce burning to just a dull echo. After what seemed like hours of agony, the woman seemed satisfied and removed the inhaler, crouching next to the young captain. "See, it wasn''t that bad!"


    Meisha groaned and leaned her head against the wall she had been propped up against. "That was the most painful thing I''ve ever felt in my life." She said, her voice hoarse.


    "Well most people don''t have their insides scorched to hell, but you''re a special case. Regardless, you''re alive! And, for the moment, safe enough to move around without risk of infection. That dose should last for a couple hours. If we can''t hook you back up on pure oxygen by then, we''ll need to find another."


    Meisha gave a nod, looking around the room, feeling a fog lift off her brain. "I¡¯m Captain Meisha Al-Jihlani of the UCDF Dauntless Midnight¡­¡± She fumbled around her scorched armor to display her ID. ¡°Where am I? And who are you?" She paused for a moment, her eyes widening. "My crew, where are they? What happened?"


    "Ah this is the part I wasn''t looking forward to." The woman murmured. She drummed her fingers against her hip for a moment, as if thinking of what to say. "I guess I''ll answer the easy question first. We''re on Hanaloi station, the gas mining colony on the hot Jupiter gas giant Hanaloi. My name is Fubuki. I''m the CEO of a starship scrapping company. I was here to work out a sale, but as you can probably guess, that didn''t happen." She looked around at the empty room, and then back at Meisha. "As for your crew, this is where things become a bit weird. I saw your ship take that plasma bolas mine head on; you never had a chance."


    "I''ve never seen a weapon like that before. I didn''t even know they existed." Meisha murmured. "We couldn''t evade it¡­ it cut right through us."


    Fubuki''s eyes darkened, a well concealed cloud of rage shadowing her face. "You haven''t seen anything like it before because they''re outlawed. Illegal."


    "Illegal? But who-"


    "Regardless." Fubuki continued, cutting Meisha off. "I''ve been here for a few days, trying to find a way off. I have no idea where the station citizens are; the place was empty when I got here. Your first ship landed a few hours ago to the north; I think they landed fine but radios haven''t been working. I was heading there when your ship was destroyed. Saw you fly out, your ship split in two. And then¡­" she paused, looking contemplative. "The station jumped."


    Meisha blinked. "The station¡­ jumped."


    "Yes."


    "Jumped how?"


    Fubuki shrugged, an embarrassed smile on her face. "I''m not quite sure. It''s like spacetime changed around us; like we''re in our own little bubble of gravity and matter. One moment you and your ship were falling away from the station to the east, and the next you were right above me. Your ship crashed on the eastern side and you. " the woman stifled a quiet laugh. "You landed in a moisture purification pool. Guess the air in your armor caused you to float, because I found you on your back, face up. You''ve got to be the luckiest woman I''ve ever met!"


    "I don''t feel too lucky." Meisha coughed, wincing.


    "Well as long as that inhaler coating holds, you won''t have to worry about infection!" Fubuki said cheerfully. "So what''s your plan? Any idea on how to get off this station?"


    Meisha struggled to her feet, and steadied herself with some help from Fubuki. "I need to get to the crash site and see if my troopers are ok. Same for the landing site up north. We squeeze everyone we can into the transport that landed and leave this cursed station." She paused. "We''ll have to figure out how to avoid that bolas weapon though, or we''ll be just as dead on the way up as we were on the way down."


    "Well I happen to know a gal who can evade those bolas mines." Fubuki said, placing her hands on her hips. "I''m not military, but I''ve been flying and fighting for years. I''ve flown through fields of those bolas mines before; I can pilot you and your guys out of here."


    Meisha raised an eyebrow. "You know how to handle a Phoenix class troop transport?"


    "Can''t do any worse than your pilots did at any rate!"


    Meisha ignored the playful teasing and mulled over the idea. "I guess I don''t have much of a choice. If you can fly my men and I out of here, then I''m all for it. Any ideas on how we can move to the crash site?"


    "Actually, yes." The woman started pacing, her dress flowing behind her and her armor clanking with each step. "The trams!" She exclaimed with a snap of her fingers. "The system is automatic on these sorts of stations, it should be running for as long as we have power."


    "Alright. Let''s go."


    Fubuki frowned. "Are you sure you''re ok, captain? You''re pretty cooked, both inside and out. Are you sure you don''t want to rest more, or need something to drink?"


    "I''m hurt like hell." Meisha growled. "But waiting around isn''t going to help anything. I messed up and got my men into this mess. It''s up to me to get them out. I need to know if they''re ok. If they aren''t¡­" she trailed off, leaving a heavy silence between the two strangers. Fubuki gave a single nod, as if thinking to herself.


    "Alright then. The tram system isn''t far off. Right this way!" She said, spinning and walking into the hall.


    Even though it was empty, Hanaloi station wasn''t quiet. The winds from the gas giant''s atmosphere constantly buffeted the station, causing it to creak and moan like no starship ever would. While the inside seemed nice enough; almost akin to being in a small city, Meisha had decided she would have never wanted to live here.


    Night had begun to set on this side of the gas giant, and the station''s lights clicked on as the sky around them grew darker. Throughout this, Meisha and Fubuki found no trace of the colonists whatsoever. Even Fubuki''s carefree attitude had faded into a reserved alertness. The silence between the two strangers was filled by the station''s groaning, and the air heavy with tension. Meisha couldn''t take it.


    "I have a few questions." She blurted out. Fubuki glanced over her shoulder, looking back at her.


    "Questions? I have a few too. We won''t find the answers by chit chatting about them though."


    Meisha cleared her throat and winced. "I mean about you."


    "Why captain?" Fubuki exclaimed with a glint of playfulness. "Surely there will be enough time for that later?"


    "Let''s try this. I have questions and I want answers. " Meisha growled. "Thanks for saving my life but the more we walk, the more I realize I don''t know you and I don''t trust you. And now that I''ve had some time to think, things don''t seem right."


    Fubuki stared at her for a long time, the playfulness she had been showing replaced with a cold calculated look. "Alright captain, ask away."


    "When we arrived in the system, the first thing we did was check out the starshot. Your ship was in the hangar."


    "Yes, it''s my own specific design."


    "You landed in the starshot, somehow managed to avoid haywire security bots, who referred to you as a dragon, and locked them in the hangar."


    "Yes."


    "Then you took the starshot''s transport craft instead of your own ship, where you came here and landed to find not a single person, body, or sign of a fight."


    "The Starshot''s transport is bigger than my ship. It''s made for hauling teams of people, while mine is just made for me to fly around to different sales. I was thinking that if something bad had happened, it would be better to evacuate. As for Hanaloi station, yes I''ve searched around for a few days, but this place is huge. Just because I haven''t found anything doesn''t mean that nothing is to be found. This is a classic case of piracy and¡­"


    Meisha''s eyes narrowed. "It''s not piracy and I think you and I both know that. There''s still valuable machinery and scrap all over this place, and it doesn''t look like anything has been taken or salvaged. Pirates also tend to leave the colonists alive and around so they can return and hit again."


    "Alright." Fubuki said. "Slavers then. Colony like this is an easy target."


    "Slavers took every last body, and the colonists didn''t put up a fight at all? I very much doubt that."


    "It''s the most plausible theory, captain."


    "Look." Meisha breathed. "Something is very very wrong here. I can feel it and I think you can too."


    Fubuki''s face softened. "Meisha, you''ve been nearly killed and are in a great deal of pain. You''re in a strange place with a stranger and the people you care about might be hurt or dead. Of course something feels wrong." She grabbed the captain''s shoulder. "You can rely on me, ok?" She clapped her hands together. "Let me tell you what I know. I know that you''re the transport captain who stopped that pirate raid on that colony a while back. Did what an entire battlegroup couldn''t do with a transport ship. So the fact that you''re here with actual troops means that you''re no longer captaining a transport, but at least a multistrike vessel. Which is strange because the experience and training required for a transport is vastly different than a multi strike ship. Which means you''re way out of your element."


    "I¡­"


    "There''s no shame in that." Fubuki continued. "If that''s how they promoted you, that''s all there is to it. But it means that you aren''t at all used to these sorts of situations. You''re injured, jumpy and nervous. A bad combination, wouldn''t you agree?"


    "I suppose."


    "So I have every right to not trust your judgment or stability at the moment. You could snap under the stress and pressure and lose it. There was a sole survivor on the starshot that cracked." Fubuki paused. "Judging by the super guilty expression on your face, you met him and it didn''t end well."


    "I didn''t want¡­"


    "You see what I''m getting at." Fubuki said pointedly. "We¡¯re stuck in this mess together. Focus on getting away from this place and figuring out what happened. There will be plenty of time for you to grill me later!" Meisha blinked a few times, choosing to ignore the obvious joke that could be made. Fubuki gave the young captain a sympathetic smile. "Not much further to the tram station. Should be a short ride after that then just follow the smoke!"


    Meisha closed her eyes and nodded. "Alright. Yeah, let''s keep moving."


    The duo set off again, quietly walking through vast empty corridors. It didn''t take long for the tram station to appear; an immense grouping of stairs, escalators and elevators all in the center of the station district surrounded by timetables and small food dispensers. Fubuki clapped her hands once and smiled. "And we''re here! Power is still on so that''s fantastic for us!" She hesitated and then frowned. "The bulkheads are sealed. It''s in lockdown."


    "Ok, so how do we lift the lockdown?"


    "It''s not that easy." Fubuki muttered, pacing back and forth. "The trams are the central method of transport for stations like this. If you need to go anywhere, you take the tram." She paused for a moment. "I mean you could also take the superhighways, but most people feel more safe in the tram instead of driving across the station''s surface in plastic pipes. The only time the tram locks down is if there''s a catastrophic failure, like a fire or explosion or¡­ a loss of atmosphere." The woman''s eyes widened and she held up a single finger.


    "What?" Meisha asked, her hand drifting towards her sidearm.


    "Do you hear that?"


    Meisha concentrated, but could only hear the station''s groaning as it fought against Hanaloi''s winds. "What am I listening for? You have to be more specific."


    "Of course, I always need to be more specific with you people"


    "What a minute, what do you mean ''you people''?"


    "The air pumps!" Fubuki exclaimed. "Listen for the air pumps.


    Meisha listened again. "You''re right! I hear absolutely nothing!" She said sarcastically. "Fubuki I''m not sure¡­"


    "They aren''t running. The air pumps." Fubuki interrupted. "The tram tube needs to be pressurized and full of atmosphere. This close to a major platform we should be able to hear them running. Hell we should be able to feel them vibrating under our feet. I don''t hear or feel anything."


    The young captain paused, realizing that Fubuki was right. "So the tram tubes must have had a loss of atmosphere at some point, either by malfunction or¡­ by sabotage." Her eyes widened, panic beginning to rise in her. "Fubuki, that''s where they are."


    "Who?" Meisha took off, half running, half limping in the direction of the security station, with Fubuki in tow. "Captain, where who is?"


    "Everyone." Meisha whispered, reaching the security station''s door. She gave it a tug, and looked back at Fubuki as it opened. "Door''s not locked. You''d think the security door would be locked." She ducked into the room, her eyes scanning the screens that covered the wall in front of her. To the side was a weapons locker, completely empty. "There has to be some sort of camera system." she muttered. "Ah, Drone system, here we go."


    Fubuki hovered over her shoulder as Meisha took a hold of the drone''s controls. A small screen came to life, showing the drone''s diagnostics scrolling past, too fast to read. Its camera flickered on. The video feed was pitch black. Fubuki leaned in, reading some of the scrolling data on the top of the feed.


    "Drone''s detecting a lot of carbon dioxide and some trace amounts of nitrogen in there. No oxygen¡­ that can''t be good." She paused for a moment. "What''s wrong with the camera? It''s not broken, is it?"


    Meisha shook her head. "No, I haven''t moved it from its housing yet. I''m trying to find¡­ aha!" She thumbed a switch, and the feed lit up as two high-powered beams of light illuminated the drone''s multiple camera angles. Meisha pushed its control joystick forwards, and the drone hovered out of its housing, its propellers the only sound picked up by its microphone. After a moment, it dropped into the tram station. As it neared the floor, the cameras focused as the light painted its surroundings. Blood drained from Meisha''s face. Fubuki gasped in quiet shock.


    "It''s a massacre." She whispered, as if the words themself were the cause of the unspeakable actions that had led to the image they were both staring at. The station was packed full of bodies. Young and old, men and women, people of all colors were laying on the ground. Some had their eyes closed, others open. Some seemed to have tried clawing at the doors, others


    leaned against walls in silent acceptance. There was no doubt about it though: all were dead.


    "Why?" Fubuki asked, a quiet fury starting to rise in her tone. "Why seal them in? They were just people."


    Even after seeing the mangled bodies on the Starshot, Meisha''s brain couldn''t comprehend the scale of death that lay in the tram tunnel. She leaned back in the chair, staring. Fubuki was shaking next to her, knuckling white and clenched fury on her face. Meisha couldn''t bring herself to feel that anger. Or sadness. Or¡­ anything. ''That''s probably a red flag,'' a small voice in the back of her mind said. Realizing she had been holding her breath, the captain let out a long shaky breath and thought about why someone would choose this way to kill a city.


    "It''s easy." She muttered.


    "What?"


    "It''s why whoever did this put them in the trams. It''s easy. The trams have to have air pumped into the tunnels. If you want to eliminate a bunch of people quickly, lock them in a room and leave them. They''d run out of something. As for why kill them, convenience maybe?" Meisha shrugged. "I only know two things. Pirates didn''t do this and you''re hiding something."


    Fubuki stared at her, a hardness in her expression that was devoid of the friendliness that had been there before. "You don''t think I had anything to do with this, do you?"


    "I barely know you. You say you''ve been on the station for a few days but you never thought to try the trams until now? Doesn''t make any sense. Also, why are you angry?"


    "What? What do you mean?"


    Meisha nodded to the video feed. "I''m still trying to wrap my mind around this. I can''t even muster up the energy to be angry. Or sad. It''s just¡­ death. It''s like this isn''t real."


    Fubuki''s face softened, and the hardness was replaced with a worried look. "I think you''re in worse shape than I thought, captain. That sounds like Shock¡­ I''m sorry, I didn''t even consider that." She pursed her lips. "I know you still don''t trust me and that''s fair, but I need you to. I do have your best interests in mind, and I did not have a hand in this." She said, her voice lowering to a growl.


    Meisha nodded once, leaning back in the chair again. She was tired. She could close her eyes and go to sleep here in this room, and never wake up and deal with the images in front of her, or the fates of her troops. It was an enticing thought. "So what now?" She murmured, blinking a few times to keep herself awake.


    "Well." Fubuki sighed. "The trams are obviously a no-go, and you¡¯re in no condition to walk for miles and miles. We¡¯ll have to try the Superhighways. Hopefully the mag tracks there still have power. We should be able to override the automated traffic system and push our way through.¡± She looked worryingly at Meisha¡¯s fluttering eyelids. ¡°The adrenaline boost from the inhaler must be wearing off. Hold on.¡±


    ¡° I won¡¯t go anywhere.¡± Meisha murmured as she closed her eyes. Fubuki left the security booth, her presence being replaced with the quiet moaning of the station. It sounded less like wind now; more as if the station was crying out for its lost population, she thought. Her mind drifted to the people in the tram tube. What would it have been like to be locked in there? To be one of the last survivors, knowing that there wasn¡¯t an escape? Watching the people you loved die? She opened her eyes and blinked a few times, feeling a wetness on her cheeks. Fubuki had quietly returned and was watching her, another inhaler in her hand.


    ¡°Are you ok, Meisha?¡±


    ¡°Just some condensation or something.¡± She muttered, wiping her eyes and sitting up. It was good that she had cried, Meisha thought to herself, even if it was just a little bit. She was still herself, just exhausted and in pain, pushed to the end of her limits. "I''m not broken yet." She muttered.


    Fubuki knelt next to her chair, and pushed the inhaler into her hand. "This one''s full. It should last you a few hours." Her voice was soft, almost pitiful. Meisha''s face hardened and she gripped the inhaler, breathing deeply and gripping the arm of the chair as an outlet for the pain. As her mind began to sharpen again, so did her resolve.


    "If we have to take the superhighways, I''ll need a new suit." She grunted, standing up. "This one is punctured to all hell. If those tubes are damaged and we have to hoof it, I need to be able to breathe."


    "Good point. There should be some exostation suits in the central security hub for the tram station."


    "The central security hub?"


    "It''s like this booth. But bigger. It should have the security suits. They''re not much more than your standard environment suit, but they do have a tad bit more armor." Fubuki''s eyes lit up. "Come to think of it, that''s the security hub for the local superhighway access as well. It runs the transportation for this district! We can turn off the automatic traffic controller and be on our way!"


    Meisha took one last look back to the camera feed of the tram tunnel, and shuddered. "Well there''s no use staying here then. Let''s start moving while I still have the energy."


    Finding the security hub and its armor and systems ended up being mundane, much to Meisha''s gratitude. Her new armor was lighter and didn''t fit quite as well as her older set, but it was functioning and able to actually hold oxygen. It also had some override functions on station systems, and the duo were able to bypass the small fee required to rent a magcar for the superhighway. Meisha found the word car a weird way to describe the vehicle; it was a large pod with two doors and no windows. It reminded her of a big rounded bullet with some magnetic field generators sticking out its sides. Fubuki had strapped herself into the magcar''s driver''s seat, and waited expectantly as Meisha stared at the vehicle. "First time in a magcar?" She inquired, a hint of teasing in her voice.


    ¡°I grew up on Earth.¡± Meisha admitted. ¡°Cities there are too big for magcar systems, we use the skylanes instead.¡±


    ¡°Ahh the flying cars, how fancy. They do tend to look better than the magcars. This won¡¯t bite though, the basics are similar. Instead of a set skylane, it rides on a magnetized rail through a tube system that sits on the surface of the station. They¡¯re generally speed limited and the automatic system makes sure they don¡¯t crash.¡±


    Meisha blinked. ¡°But we turned that off.¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Fubuki said cheerily. ¡°We¡¯ll be redlining the entire way there.¡± She looked over at Meisha¡¯s hesitant face and rolled her eyes. ¡°Believe me, Captain. We¡¯ll be ok. Come on, we¡¯re wasting time.¡±


    Meisha did what she was told, pulling the door down until it clicked and leaning back into the seat. The magcar¡¯s interior lights dimmed with the sealing of the doors, and screens lit up showing camera views of the front and sides. It lurched forward with a sort of awkwardness, before the magcar depot¡¯s hatch slid open. The ride smoothed as the magcar was pushed onto the superhighway¡¯s magnetic railing. They rode out of the artificial station light and back into the orange hue of the gas giant¡¯s atmosphere, clear plastic tubing protecting the magnetic track they rode on. Meisha felt like a toy car on a track, and the feeling made her uneasy. ¡°I understand why people prefer the trams.¡± She muttered.


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    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I always kind of enjoy this.¡± Fubuki admitted with a smile. They were moving fast now, gliding along the rails past towers and antenna on the station¡¯s surface. ¡°It''s much more freeing than the trams, and it has a great view. See, look.¡± She pointed at two plumes of black smoke on their left. ¡°That''s where your transport crashed. At this speed, I¡¯d guess we¡¯re maybe 15 minutes away?¡±


    Meisha nodded, both fear and relief settling into the pit of her stomach. Whatever happened to Gabriels, Lupus, Donovan, Reiya and the others, she would know soon. For better or for worse, she would know. She leaned against the side of the magcar and looked out its side viewscreen, watching the landscape of the station surface zip past as the orange sunlight glinted off it. It was getting darker out, she realized. Must be almost to the planet¡¯s night cycle. She wondered if it would last longer or shorter than Earth¡¯s cycle, and was lost in that thought when something in the back of her mind screamed danger. ¡°Stop the pod.¡± She ordered.


    Fubuki turned to look at her, startled by the sudden intensity in the captain¡¯s voice. ¡°Why? What''s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Just do it.¡±


    The magcar slid to a halt as Meisha stared out the viewscreen. She had seen something wrong; something that wasn¡¯t supposed to be there. As she scanned the station¡¯s horizon, it happened again. A blue light shooting up from below the station, turning, flying low right at them. It was followed by another, much brighter light. Her eyes could make out the first one as it got closer, though it wasn¡¯t anything she had seen before. It was a ship moving fast, its wings and weapons like that of an insect. Antennae bristled around it, and it grew closer and closer at an alarming speed. The other two lights were clearer now as well; another insect-like ship, followed by a much larger and more brick-like craft. The ships were foreign to her, but their formation and profiles weren¡¯t. ¡°Two interceptors and a transport.¡± She said, looking back at Fubuki. Fubuki¡¯s eyes stared hard at the ship and she didn¡¯t meet Meisha¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°Have you ever seen ships like that before?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Meisha admitted. ¡°I have no idea what they are, I¡¯ve never seen that design. But the profiles are similar to Hellcats and Phoenixes. I¡¯m guessing they serve the same role, which begs the question: who the hell are they?¡±


    Fubuki pursed her lips. ¡°I¡¯m more worried about whether they''ve spotted us at all.¡±


    They both waited with breath abated as the trio of strange ships bore down on them. Meisha let out an audible breath as the ships thundered over them, shaking the magnetic rail with the power of their engines. The relief lasted only a moment as she realized where they were heading. ¡°The wreckage!¡± She gasped.


    ¡°Hold on.¡± Fubuki growled as she pushed the magcar forwards again. It shot off like a bullet; the sudden increase in momentum pushing Meisha into the seat even more. ¡°We can¡¯t beat them there, those crafts are too quick.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re smart soldiers. If anyone survived, they wouldn¡¯t have stayed at the crash scene.¡±


    Fubuki blinked, a look of confusion on her face. ¡°This whole time We¡¯ve been heading there and you think your troops aren¡¯t even there?¡±


    ¡°Not directly at the crash site, no.¡± Meisha admitted. ¡°They know we were attacked. That site is a big signal for whoever attacked us. Probably those guys.¡± She said, nodding at the strange ships in the distance. ¡°So the smart thing to do is to pull the survivors and what gear you can away and observe the site. That''s hard to do on a station like this though; not many good places to hide and watch.¡± She turned and looked at Fubuki. ¡°How long has it been since they crashed?¡±


    ¡°Maybe five hours? Not terribly long.¡±


    ¡°Time¡¯s not on their side then.¡± Meisha thought for a moment. If she were Gabriels, or Lupus, or any of her troops, where would the best place to hide be? ¡°What district is over there?¡±


    ¡°If I remember my last visit here, it''s entertainment. Movie theaters, restaurants, casinos¡­ you name it.¡±


    Meisha thought for a moment, and decided on a conclusion. ¡°I¡¯d go to one of the casinos. Lots of cover, elevation, and vaults. That''s where they¡¯ll be. The question is, which one?¡±


    Fubuki glanced over at her and reached past her, tapping one of the view screens. A menu pulled up cheerfully advertising the approaching district and all it had to offer. Meisha blinked and began scrolling through the maps and information available. After a moment, she let out a small sharp laugh. ¡°I know where they are. The Midnight Luxe.¡±


    ¡°I remember that one. It''s huge, has a balcony as well that looks over the biggest street in the district.¡± Fubuki pursed her lips in thought. ¡°Depending on where your ship crashed though, your guys are gonna be split up.¡±


    ¡°This magcar have a local radio reception?¡±


    Fubuki shrugged. ¡°Yeah I assume so. Here, let me-¡± She fiddled around with some controls, and static filled the cabin. ¡°There¡¯s your radio.¡±


    Meisha started flipping through frequencies. ¡°They¡¯re jamming communications from orbit.¡± She explained. ¡°I couldn¡¯t receive anything with the ship-based Qcomms. But I¡¯m wondering if they bothered to jam local broadcasts and networks?¡±


    ¡°Why would your troops be broadcasting on the local network? Don¡¯t they have radios?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah.¡± Meisha said a bit sheepishly. ¡°Each suit has its own radio, but it''s limited and on a closed network. We did have some more capable long range units but we, eh, used them.¡±


    ¡°Used them?¡±


    ¡°We cannibalized them for wiring to make an improvised EMP blast to destroy those security bots on the starshot and take out a nuke.¡±


    Fubuki stared at her like what she had said was insanity. Meisha supposed it was, for someone who hadn¡¯t lived it. It did sound far fetched and wild. Meisha wondered if the Admiralty would believe that detail in her report.


    ¡°What sort of woman are you?¡± Fubuki asked incredulously.


    ¡°A very unlucky one.¡±


    ¡°Or.¡± Fubuki said. ¡°A very lucky one indeed.¡± She looked ahead again and slowed down the magcar, the station¡¯s doors sliding open. The magcar slid out of the fading daylight and back into the artificial light of another station depot, though this one was far more decorated. Neon lights painted every shadow of the area, and advertisements still looped on screens and projections, hoping to sell to a population no longer present. The two women got out of the magcar and moved out of the depot, checking the hallway before moving low and fast into the streets of the entertainment district. ¡°The Midnight Luxe is down the end of this boulevard.¡± Fubuki said, pulling out her revolver and leaning around the corner. Meisha enhanced her suit camera¡¯s view and stared in that direction.


    Sure enough, the Midnight Luxe sat like a queen surrounded by attendees; its gold and purple lights flashing, promising fortune and a change of life. Around it were smaller restaurants, hotels and similar buildings, all with the intent of routing traffic to the Luxe. Meisha zoomed her camera in on the balcony and its garden, and smiled with relief as she saw a small black tube sticking out of a decorative bush.


    ¡°It seems that you were right.¡± Fubuki admitted. ¡°I see a gun barrel in the balcony garden, around twelve degrees to the right. Someone¡¯s keeping a lookout.¡±


    ¡°Which means that someone is organizing.¡± Meisha exclaimed in relief. She studied the angle of the gun barrel, and followed it. ¡°They aren¡¯t watching down this boulevard, they¡¯re watching to the left.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a dock over on the left side. I¡¯ve used it before; it''s gigantic. I¡¯ll bet that''s where those ships landed.¡± Fubuki leaned around a corner and waved Meisha over. ¡°There¡¯s your smoke. Looks like the ship crashed closer to the docks than here. Station¡¯s void shields managed to seal the breaches for the most part. We have to be leaking environment somehow because you can still see smoke from the station surface.¡± There was a loud crash in the distance, and Meisha became aware of a low droning noise coming from that direction.


    ¡°Sounds like whoever they are has already deployed and is moving. We don¡¯t have much time to make it to the Luxe.¡±


    ¡°How quick can you move?¡± Fubuki asked.


    Meisha grimaced. ¡°Well there¡¯s an easy way to find out.¡±


    ¡°Wait, if we book it towards the casino, your watchdog is likely to take a shot at us. That could end with us dead and their position given away.¡± Fubuki put her hand on Meisha¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We have to do this smart. Quick, but smart.¡±


    Even though she hated it, Meisha knew that Fubuki was right. Fubuki¡¯s red dress wasn¡¯t exactly camouflage, and even Meisha¡¯s borrowed security suit had parts that glinted and reflected light. If they didn¡¯t approach carefully they could be dead in a second. On the other hand, if they got too close and surprised  anyone who was jumpy, it could end in the same result. ¡°Damn.¡±


    ¡°I have an idea.¡± Fubuki said hesitantly. ¡°We can¡¯t sneak up on them or run to them. We need to nab their attention and get them to bring us in.¡±


    ¡°Ok, and how do you plan to do that without giving away their position?¡±


    ¡°Simple!¡± Fubuki exclaimed. She looked particularly proud of herself. ¡°I¡¯m sure our friend on the balcony garden isn¡¯t the only watchdog. I¡¯ll bet almost anything that they have someone watching this boulevard too. They¡¯re smart soldiers, you said, right?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°So we need to draw their attention without the use of noise or any major flashes. Which leaves us with very few options. So-" Fubuki said as she drew the strange sword carried. "I figure we can make a flag."


    Meisha blinked. "Sure, I guess, but out of what?"


    Fubuki grabbed a handful of her red dress and with one quick motion, cut the hem of it off. She took the red fabric and tied it around the blade''s tip. "You stay here in case something bad happens."


    "Like hell I will." Meisha snorted, but Fubuki had already dashed into the middle of the open street, waving the sword above her head like a battle standard. With one easy motion she leapt onto a nearby table and stood there, waving the sword back and forth.


    Despite Meisha''s objections, she remained where she was and watched the casino; looking for any sign that the troopers inside had spotted them. The watcher on the balcony turned towards them but didn''t fire. Meisha relaxed a bit. They had seen Fubuki but hadn''t fired. The noise to the left of the district was getting louder by the second though; whoever was in charge there would have to make a choice soon.


    It took a while for Meisha to spot the four figures approaching them from the casino. They were moving in a quick formation and staying well hidden, sticking to the shadows and corners of the boulevard. As they approached Fubuki, two fanned out and covered the sides while the other two trained their rifles on Fubuki. Meisha peered from her hiding place, unwilling to step out just in case the troopers were a bit too jumpy. She couldn''t hear what the troopers were saying, but the captain had a close enough guess. Fubuki stepped off the table with as much grace as she had leapt onto it, removing her makeshift flag and sheathing her sword before she landed. Meisha saw her point over to where she hid, and after a moment, stepped out of her cover with both hands raised. One of the troopers waved her over and saluted when she got close.


    "Holy shit captain, I thought we had lost you." Gabriels exclaimed.


    Meisha started laughing, almost unable to stop herself. It was a laugh of relief and anguish, and she knew that if she wasn''t careful it could very well turn into sobbing. "You have no idea, Gabriels. I would have bitten it big time if it wasn''t for Fubuki here."


    "So she''s with you?"


    Meisha nodded. "Absolutely. She saved my life." She hesitated, not wanting to ask this next question. "How bad is it?"


    Gabriels face darkened. "We lost about a third of the second platoon. When whatever hit us split the ship in half, some of us got lucky. One of the pilots survived the hit and somehow guided us into as gentle of a crash landing as he could manage. Lots of injuries but only a few deaths there." He paused for a moment, clearly thinking over his next words. "The other half wasn''t so lucky. Only five or six survivors. We thought you were a sure casualty as well. Hell, I saw you torn out."


    Meisha shook her head and gestured to Fubuki. "She tells me I''m lucky. Gabriels, I''m sorry. I mean-"


    Gabriels held up a hand. "Way I see it, Captain, this isn''t your fault. I''ve never seen that sort of weapon that hit us, and neither has anyone else. I also saw the station move. Went from off in the distance to directly below us. I don''t see a way to explain that. " He looked around, checking his corners. "Captain, I think we''re above our paygrade here."


    "You''re telling me." Fubuki muttered to herself. She had gravitated to Meisha''s side, and her eyes were scanning the left of the district as the noise grew closer. "We can talk inside, can''t we?"


    Gabriels nodded, and motioned his troops to fall in. ¡°That''s the smart thing to do right now.¡± He grimaced. ¡°Though we¡¯ll have to be careful bringing you inside. Briggs is furious right now.¡±


    ¡°Briggs is here too?¡±


    ¡°The whole First Platoon is. They landed on the East side of the station without any issue but couldn¡¯t take off again because of some mechanical trouble. Said they saw us come down and hit, the station jumped underneath them. Managed to make it to us a few hours ago on foot. That''s when we set up in the casino.¡± The group started moving back to their makeshift base, keeping to the shadows. ¡°He blames you, by the way.¡± Gabriels said hesitantly.


    ¡°Who? Briggs?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Says he told you that we weren¡¯t ready for ground ops, and that you¡¯ve got his troopers blood on your hands.¡±


    Meisha grit her teeth, suppressing a fury that exploded inside her chest. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him.¡± She said, trying to remain professional. She knew that Briggs was right to a certain extent; She had known any ground ops would be risky, and he had warned her about it. At the same time, they had a mission to do. It was one thing to lament the loss of troopers. Meisha herself felt guilty enough about that. It was another to go around assigning blame. She couldn¡¯t have known what would happen, nobody could have.


    The inside of the Midnight Luxe used to be glamorous. Iit was the pinnacle of luxury, with dark walls and gold accents everywhere, ornate wall sconces and indoor gardens. Soft jazz music played throughout the casino, and advertisements flashed, showing the beauty of the casino¡¯s upper floor hotel rooms.


    The style of the casino, however, was contrasted by the 200 or so troopers who had taken up residence. Tables had been thrown to the ground to create cover or barricades. Chairs had been thrown in piles to make room for the medics to work on the injured. Soldiers sat in small groups, eating from their ration packs or cleaning their weapons. The air was tense and smelled of blood, antiseptic and oil.


    As they walked through, Meisha caught a glimpse of nine men in REAPER suits heading to the upper balcony. The REAPERS would easily have survived the transport crash, and that brought her some relief to know that Lupus was most likely alive. They passed a bar where a handful of men were busy making molotov grenades using strips of fabric from furniture. Fubuki grabbed a bottle of Earth-made bourbon as they walked past, winking at Meisha and taking a sip.


    Had Fubuki been one of Meisha¡¯s troopers, she would have immediately taken it from her, but the woman was a civilian and had saved her life. Meisha decided that she had earned the drink.


    Briggs stood on the inner terrace looking over data and camera footage on his holo-pad. He was talking with a soldier with a long rifle, somewhat heatedly, when Meisha felt a strong hand grab her shoulder. She looked behind her to see Lupus, a somewhat sad smile on his face.


    ¡°Good to see you, Captain.¡± He said. He nodded towards Briggs. ¡°Be careful with him. First time he¡¯s lost troops in a very long time. He¡¯s not happy.¡±


    Meisha nodded and took off her helmet, handing it to Gabriels. She approached Briggs and the soldier.  The marksman saw her first and snapped to a salute. Briggs turned around slowly, and Meisha gave him a sad smile. ¡°Briggs its-¡±


    Briggs¡¯ armored fist slammed into Meisha¡¯s face before she had a chance to blink. It knocked her off her feet, her world going dim and a ringing filling her ears. There was no pain yet, but she knew that would come later. She felt something wet on her face and reached up to touch it, her fingers covered in bright red liquid. Her nose was broken, there was no doubt about that. Briggs was leaning over her, his face a bright red. He was shouting, she could see that, but she had no idea what he was saying. She saw Fubuki standing over her, revolver in hand, pointed at Brigg¡¯s head. The Marksman had raised his rifle at Fubuki, and Lupus had attempted to step in between Fubuki and Briggs. Briggs had turned his attention to Fubuki, and Meisha¡¯s hearing returned slowly.


    ¡°-unfit for leadership of this unit.¡± Briggs was growling. ¡°Forty-three of my men are dead because of her.¡±


    ¡°LT, I don¡¯t think this is the best way to handle it.¡± Lupus said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not letting us get screwed again by some spineless idiot fleet commander. That happened in the jungle. Not again.¡±


    ¡°Ah so because something bad happened once, mutiny is the best choice?¡± Fubuki asked cheerily. Her thumb cocked the revolver¡¯s hammer. ¡°Seems kind of like a coward¡¯s way to live, if you ask me.¡±


    ¡°If me caring about my men¡¯s survival more than the fleet¡¯s goddamned paychecks is cowardice, then sure.¡± Briggs growled.


    Meisha rolled herself over and got to her hands and knees. The bleeding from her nose had slowed, and she pushed herself to her feet with some effort. She staggered a few steps and braced against Gabriels before steadying. The marksman lowered their rifle and excused themselves, knowing something above their pay grade was about to commence. Fubuki lowered her pistol slowly and looked at her with concern. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Saying nothing, Meisha took the bottle of bourbon from her hand. With one fluid motion, she slammed it into Brigg¡¯s face as hard as she could. It shattered and he hit the ground, just like she had.


    Unlike him, however, she jumped on top of him, her fists slamming into his face. She was vaguely aware that she was shouting, losing military bearing. She didn¡¯t care. Gabriels and Lupus grabbed her and pulled her off. She fought them but the pair were too much for her, and they held her back as Briggs sat up, his face bruised and bloody.


    ¡°You think I don¡¯t care?¡± Meisha screamed at him with murder dripping from her voice. ¡°You think I wanted this? You think that every name of the men and women who¡¯ve died today, under my command, won¡¯t be seared into my brain for the rest of my life?¡± She spat on him, no longer caring about who overheard what. ¡°You advised me about ground contact. We needed to recon. Suck it up. I made the call. I own that. But these are MY troops, and their blood is on MY hands. And YOU don¡¯t decide that because something bad happened, you¡¯re allowed to mutiny. I swear to god if you EVER try and pull this self-righteous shit with me again I will throw you in a cell and let you rot for the rest of your pathetic life. Get over yourself and do your goddamned job!"


    She screamed the last part, breathing hard as the whole casino fell silent. She hesitated, and her shoulders slumped. "Go put some ice on that, then come back here. I want a full debrief on what''s been happening."


    Briggs stared hard at her for a moment, and then saluted. "Aye captain." He muttered.


    "Go with him Gabriels." Meisha ordered. The second platoon leader helped Briggs to his feet, and the two made their way down the stairs. Lupus let go of her arm, and let out a deep chuckle.


    "I''ve been serving under Briggs for 15 years ma''am and I''ve never seen him take a licking like that." He frowned, still seeing the anger in Meisha''s eyes. "He really is a good man, Captain. Cares a lot about his troops.¡±


    Meisha sat down on a nearby chair and sighed. Fubuki knelt next to her, examining her face for a moment before wiping the blood off with her makeshift flag. ¡°How bad is it?¡± Meisha asked.


    Fubuki gave her a warm smile. ¡°It''s not bad. Hell you look the same as when I found you, dear captain.¡±


    ¡°Is Briggs gonna be a problem?¡± Meisha asked Lupus.


    ¡°No, he¡¯s not.¡± Briggs announced, climbing back up the stairs. He had a bag of ice held against his head and a holo-pad in the other hand. Meisha raised an eyebrow and waited. The towering man cleared his throat awkwardly.


    ¡°Do you remember our conversation about how my file didn¡¯t exactly mention everything?¡±


    ¡°Vaguely, yes.¡±


    ¡°It was 12 years ago. I was 3 years into my first command, serving on the carrier Vesuvian Majesty. Had a great force of 300 troopers under me, and we had never lost a soul across all 10 deployments we had made. That lasted until Perenia Echo.¡±


    Fubuki leaned on the balcony railing next to Meisha. ¡°I remember that colony.¡± She said. ¡°Was settled by a bunch of ecofacists right?¡± Briggs snorted.


    ¡°All the Perenia colonists wanted was for Earth to leave them alone. However the Admiralty had shares invested in a good sized logging fleet, and Perenia was a jungle planet. So they sent a fleet out to Perenia claiming they weren¡¯t paying their standard resource tax.¡±


    Meisha blinked, confused. ¡°Resource tax?¡±


    ¡°Wow you really are an Earth kid.¡± Fubuki laughed. ¡°All colonies pay some sort of tax to Earth. Some don¡¯t pay in money, they pay in resources.¡±


    ¡°And Earth wanted trees.¡± Briggs murmured, his eyes distant. ¡°You know how rare trees are on Earth these days. Wood is a limited resource and it''s rare for us to actually find carbon based plants like that. Perenia was a jungle; carbon based plant fiber as far as the eye could see. The colonists on Perenia loved their planet. They had a lot of pride in it. But once the feeds from Perenia made it to Earth, the logging firms started packing. Government declared Perenia¡¯s tax would be paid in trees. Perenia refused and offered money and crops instead. Earth refused and demanded trees. And they sent the fleet to enforce it.¡± He shook his head. ¡°The captain I served under was Captain Vanessa Townsen.¡±


    Meisha felt a vague memory stir. She recalled Branson talking about Townsen. ¡°She¡¯s a decorated captain, right?¡± The laughter she received was not light. Lupus spat on the ground.


    ¡°She¡¯s something, but not decorated.¡±


    ¡°Her husband owns Townsen Logging.¡± Briggs continued. ¡°The company Earth sent to go collect what they thought they deserved. Loggers tried landing, but the locals pushed them offworld and refused to give in. That''s when Townsen ordered us down. All we had been told was that a bunch of ecofacist terrorists had attacked the loggers, and we were gonna take them out. We landed on the outskirts of their capitol, and it seemed like the whole damned colony fought us.¡±


    ¡°I remember the first time I realized we weren¡¯t fighting terrorists.¡± Lupus murmured. ¡°Farmer came at me with an antique shotgun. Older guy, out of shape. I had the old HAU suit instead of the REAPER back then. Big set of heavy armor, and this guy is still  charging at me screaming that we¡¯ll never take his home. He went down, but that''s when I started actually looking at their faces. No armor, old weapons. Young and old faces. We were pushing through their neighborhoods, and even the police force was fighting us.¡±


    ¡°I realized that something was very wrong, and tried to call it in.¡± Briggs growled. ¡°Townsen told me that it wasn¡¯t my job to think about it. I had been given an order and I was to follow through. Even though we were better armored and better trained, had better equipment, we were outmatched. There were too many. Hell, some threw rocks. My guys started going down and I called for air support. Nothing came. I called for evac. Nothing. They were recording footage of the battle and broadcasting it to try and sell the angle that the colony was full of aggressive murderers. In all reality they just wanted to be left alone.¡± He shook his head sadly. ¡°Townsen got tired of waiting. She decided to make an example out of the colony, saying it had declared itself a rebel and would bomb them into submission. They turned the cameras off and started the bombardment. It started a massive firestorm; apparently the trees on that planet were super flammable. Jungle was burning a mile a minute. I begged for EVAC but was told it was too dangerous and that we were on our own. I gave the order to push for the spaceport. I thought maybe we could be lucky enough to grab a ship.¡±


    ¡°By the time we managed to break through, it seemed like half the planet was burning. The sky was dark with smoke and it was hard to breathe. Ash fell like rain. There were lines of families with children and all sorts of evacuees trying to evacuate the planet. We grabbed a transport and tried to usher everyone in, but they refused. Spat at us. A few even started shooting again.¡±


    ¡°I lost three more guys in just a couple minutes; we had to go. Fifteen of us made it off-planet. Out of three hundred. I let Townsen know what ship we were in, and she confirmed. As we left the atmosphere, we saw other ships launching as well. Townsen¡­ She shot them down. Every single ship that launched she fired on. And she got a damned medal for it afterwards.¡±


    Meisha shook her head. ¡°No, I don''t believe you. Nobody would do that. Least of all the Admiralty. Nobody is that bloodthirsty.¡±


    ¡°It''s true.¡± Lupus said flatly. ¡°The Admiralty does what it wants and what benefits them.¡±


    ¡°Then why do you still serve them?¡± Fubuki asked lightly. ¡°You have this terrible story about how corrupt your military leaders are, but you¡¯re still in the military.¡±


    ¡°I stay to try and take care of these kids.¡± Briggs said, motioning to his troopers. ¡°Because god knows the Admiralty won¡¯t.¡±


    Meisha shook her head again. ¡°No. Even if that did happen, it''s just one person. The whole Admiralty isn¡¯t like that.¡± It was Fubuki¡¯s turn to laugh.


    ¡°Dear captain, I¡¯ve seen and heard a lot on my travels. Lots of theories about how the Admiralty funds the pirate fleets, the Admiralty pockets as much as possible. The upper echelon of your military wing is very much corrupt. But they¡¯re able to control their image more easily on Earth by filtering your Quantum communication, so you don¡¯t hear about it often.¡± She gave a small chuckle. ¡°Your leaders are bullies and thieves. I¡¯ve known that for a while, but war criminals are a new one.¡±


    ¡°So why haven¡¯t you told anyone?¡± Meisha whispered, trying to come to terms with the blanket of innocence that had just been ripped away from her.


    ¡°You think we haven¡¯t tried?¡± Briggs asked. ¡°You can¡¯t fight something like the Admiralty. Hell, you¡¯re the first captain I¡¯ve ever seen deploy with the troops, and you''re the first captain I¡¯ve ever seen care about groundside losses. I was furious. I thought you didn¡¯t care and I blamed you for feeding us into the grinder like all the others.¡± He rubbed his jaw where a large bruise had formed. ¡°I was completely mistaken. Gabriels told me about your actions on the Starshot, and the amount of fury you had put me in my place.¡± He extended his hand as an offer of apology. ¡°So charge me, do whatever you need, take care of my troops. But, if you turn out to be another Townsen, I won¡¯t let them be fed into a grinder again.¡±


    Meisha hesitated, then accepted the handshake. ¡°You¡¯re not getting out of a leadership role that easily LT. I want a full report on what we¡¯re dealing with as well as an assessment of our combat status, how many injured we have, and an inventory on supplies done. I want it in fifteen minutes. We may have to fight our way offstation.¡± Briggs began to open his mouth, but Meisha held up a hand. ¡°No arguing, we don¡¯t have time for it.¡± Briggs gave a sharp salute and turned, barking orders at soldiers.


    ¡°Well that went better than expected.¡± Fubuki murmured. ¡°Glad he got over himself quickly.¡±


    Meisha pushed herself to her feet. ¡°Lupus, you know how to access the roof?¡±


    ¡°Sure do.¡±


    ¡°Take us.¡± Meisha picked up her helmet as they left. Lupus led them to a small closet with an access ladder, and motioned up.


    ¡°My armor is too much for the ladder, but it leads to the roof.¡±


    Meisha gave a nod and started up, popping the access hatch at the top and climbing out. The noise of the district filled the air, and the sound of movement was much closer now. She moved low to the edge of the roof and lay on her belly, looking in the direction of the noise. Fubuki lay next to her after a moment and pointed. ¡°In the street there. I¡¯d guess maybe twenty minutes away?¡±


    Meisha zoomed in on the street and froze. Her heart was pounding. ¡°I¡¯m insane.¡± She breathed. The marching force was clearly visible, but entirely unrecognizable. ¡°They aren¡¯t human.¡±


    Fubuki furrowed her eyebrows, and peered through her revolver¡¯s scope. ¡°No they aren¡¯t.¡± Her voice had no sign of surprise or disbelief, just grim determination. Meisha forced herself to calm down and study the force, taking pictures and video with her suit¡¯s camera. The aliens were tall, standing easily a head taller than a human in REAPER armor. Their armor was a silvery gray, and they reminded Meisha of insects. Their legs were shaped like a locust¡¯s, and it appeared that they had four arms, each pair holding some sort of rifle. They marched perfectly in sync. Movement caught Meisha¡¯s eye, and she turned to see one jump from one rooftop to another.


    ¡°They have flankers checking the surrounding buildings.¡± She whispered. ¡°They¡¯re tactical. Intelligent.¡±


    Fubuki was still staring hard. ¡°Meisha, we need to leave. Now.¡±


    ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that?¡± Meisha hissed. ¡°Our one dropship is damaged, and the other destroyed. We have wounded troops as well. How the hell do you think we abandon the station? We can¡¯t sneak past them; that¡¯ll make a decent amount of noise.¡± She paused. ¡°They had a dropship, the aliens. If we can make it past them, maybe¡­¡±


    ¡°No, Listen to me.¡± Fubuki said, staring at her hard. ¡°These are Ferronians. They are faster, stronger, and have better weapons and armor than you. They live for centuries and are some of the most disciplined soldiers in this galaxy. You cannot defeat them in a fight.¡± Something in her voice had changed, Meisha realized. It was no longer light or playful, but now held an air of authority that she had only heard a few times in her life.


    ¡°How do you know all of this?¡± Meisha asked.


    ¡°I will tell you later. For now I need you and your soldiers to gather what you have and move to the docks. There¡¯s an open air emergency dock on the top of the station near there. Move your men there.¡±


    ¡°They landed over by the docks, genius. They¡¯ll hear us moving if we try to do that, and I¡¯m sure they have guards there. They¡¯d be stupid not to.¡±


    ¡°Your REAPER suits can take care of the guards. I¡¯ll distract the primary force and meet you on that emergency dock. The Ferronians would have landed on the master dock, and I guarantee the emergency one will be free. Now move quickly.¡± None of this was worded as a suggestion, and Meisha had the feeling that Fubuki¡¯s will wasn¡¯t denied much.


    ¡°Like hell that¡¯ll happen.¡± She growled. ¡°I am not letting a civilian go and initiate first contact with an alien race. Hell this may be a big misunderstanding.¡±


    Fubuki blinked. ¡°Dear captain, do you trust me?¡± When Meisha nodded, Fubuki gave her a warm smile and stood. ¡°Then know that I have your best interests in mind, and that I am wise beyond my years. Be at that dock in an hour.¡± And with those words, the woman in the red dress stepped off the roof. Meisha scrambled to look over the ledge but Fubuki had vanished. She leaned back, staring off at the alien force heading their way.


    ¡°Holy shit what have I gotten us into.¡±