As with moth asteroid bases, Barrow (strategically located along the trade routes of Hudson) was over-crowded and bursting at the seams. Rows upon rows of Hawks, Startrackers, and the occasional Falcon and Eagle lined the launch bay, open wires exposed to the recycled air, access ports thrown open and mechanics crawling inside to fix anything from that annoying rattle to a coolant leak. The number of people running between the ships and working on each for a few minutes was disproportionately small - too many ships and too few mechanics. Resources were spread thin already, and something of the magnitude Caleb Swift was planning would need more resources.
For a hint as to what his mind was conceiving, one had only to look at the four Eagles, each in better condition than their counterparts, lined up and prepared to launch. He stood in front of his, over-viewing the final plan for attack. He had an ingenious plan - to show Rheinland that they meant business. Despite the embargo, trade was still active. Most Xenos had lauded the embargo as a step forward, but now it was obvious that it was nothing but empty talk. So, the Xeno Guard wing would be sending four fighters - Caleb Swift, Vincent Severrn, Nicole Conzales, and Ben Jacobs - were to strike fast and hard against Hamburg shipping. Something as surgical as they were proposing took skill, and when the leaders of the Xenos thought it up, they immediately contacted Caleb.
Now, Vincent walked up, flight suit on and helmet under his arm. "I don't like this one, man. I'm tellin' ya, hitting Rheinland probably isn't the best idea in the world... and us? I mean, we don't mess with shipping."
Caleb looked up and said off-handedly, "Noted, but this is gonna work, and it's us because we're the best. Get ready to go, we leave in 5."
The Eagles launched, formed up, and headed for the Bering jump hole. Passing a few Rogue patrols, and completely annihilating one that managed to cruise disrupt them, they jumped to Bering with little hassle. Unioners accosted them their entire trip through Bering, but they managed to make it to the Hamburg jump hole in one piece, and continued on to the east, heading to cut the trade lane between the planet and the Bering jump gate. Taking up position alongside the trade lane, Caleb disabled it and they waited. Time passed, and so did transports. Or at least, they tried to pass. Convoy after convoy was destroyed with a grace that left the escort pilots shocked, until they were blown out of the sky.
Then, the Rheinland Military showed up. Four Wraths dropped out of the trade lane, ordering the Eagles to surrender. Defiant, they engaged, and it was soon apparent that the Xenos would prevail.
That is, until the Rheinland Cruiser group dropped out of the trade lane. Used to being out-gunned, the Xenos broke apart and began to get out of there. Ben and Vincent were the fastest to react, and therefore hit the asteroids and safety first. Nicole was a step behind, but Caleb had hesitated to run, which turned out to be a big mistake. As he moved to leave, his ship got hit by a cruise disruptor from the Cruiser and a burst of fire hit his left wing, ripping it off and sending him into a clockwise spin. As he saw another flash from the cruiser, the deadly muzzle flash of several turrets opening fire, tracking with precision towards his ship, he did the only sane thing he could.
He slammed 'eject'. One second he felt the normal forces of gravity, the next he felt like he was being shot upwards at a thousand miles an hour, multiple G-forces pulling him back down. Then, there was weightlessness. The dim strobes of the emergency lighting provided minimal illumination, but through the small window, he saw space. He also saw the Cruiser, coming closer, ever closer, and he saw the tractor beam.
"Everyone in one piece?" Vincent Severrn asked as he flew back to the Bering jump hole. Glancing down at his scanners, he saw that they weren't. Only three Eagles were showing up, and the missing one was Caleb's. He immediately slammed engine-kill and spun his ship around, re-engaged cruise, and started back.
"Vince, no! There's nothing you can do now!" Nicole's voice crackled over the comm like a gunshot. Vincent knew this was true, but he couldn't just go home with the knowledge that he had left his CO and friend behind to the mercies of the Rheinlanders. Slowly, he disengaged cruise. The other two were formed up on him, and he knew that leadership had fallen to him. He knew that throwing their lives away in a futile effort to save Caleb was pointless. His heart screamed for him to go back, but his mind made him grit his teeth and fly back to Barrow.
Caleb woke up slowly. His head felt like it was about to explode, and when he moved he felt a sharp pain jolt up his spine to go off like fireworks in his skull. His attempt to sit up turned into him going back down and screaming in the agony, screaming as the spasms of pain racked his body. Slowly, it stopped, and all he could do was pant. After the Cruiser had captured his pod, they had taken used plasma torches to force the hatch and had pulled him out none too roughly. Fighting like a demon, he managed to almost kill a man with his bare hands before he felt like every muscle in his body had locked up. He fell forward, unable to brace himself. Once he hit the ground, he received several kicks to the torso and was dragged off by two men. They threw him in a cell, where a few minutes later, someone came, ostensibly to 'interrogate' him. He didn't ask any questions, but subjected Caleb to numerous pain-inflicting methods, calling him a monster, telling him this was Rheinland's vengeance for all the pilots he had killed.
Then, an indeterminate time later, he left. And Caleb was left alone with his thoughts and the pain. Oh, the pain... For the moment, he was not planning escape. He knew that he must eventually, but he couldn't right then. All he could do was pant and try to ignore the pain.
//Feedback please//
It was the command center of Barrow, a place that was surprisingly clean despite the apparent business of the area, as well as the reputation the Xenos had for not bathing or caring about cleanliness. Order was the key to success, as far as tactical operations went, and nobody knew this better than Jack Tar, leader of the Xeno Alliance. In his mid-forties, his short hair was brown yet graying at the roots, soft wrinkles playing across his tan face. Standing in front of him were the three Guard pilots that had accompanied Caleb, all telling him what happened. Standing around were several higher-ups in the Xeno Alliance, each of which had stopped (some in mid-stride) to hear the tale unfold from Vincent's mouth.
After he was done, Jack seemed to consider everything. Then: "So?" He seemed conflicted on the course of action to pursue.
"So?!" Vincent almost exploded. "SO? We have to go rescue him!"
"Aww heck boys, we'd lose a whole bunch o' folk's gettin' dat job done, an' durnit, we dun have money comin' out o' nowhere. I can't be affordin' any more o' dem expensive eagles. We got us a cause here boys, an' Caleb, though it makes me fell righ' sick t' says it, is jus' one man." His face softened some, and he said, "Now dun' you be gettin' me wrong folks, I got a whole heap o' respect fer Caleb, heck, he be one o' our best men. But unless yous all comin' up wid some damned miracle o' a plan I ain't gunna chuck away ma boys live on some suicide rescue mission. Yous all come back to me when you gots yersel' somethin' sensible to say"
Vincent stood there for a moment, mouth working in anger. Ben grabbed Vincent by the arm, leading him out of the room. We have to do something.
Caleb's vision, which had been slightly skewed due to the damage he had taken, slowly returned until he could see again. The room was small and old. Piping ran across the ceiling, making it look like some backroom near the engines, generally not used for much. There was no furniture whatsoever, and only one door, locked and with no way to open it from the inside. He stared around, looking for a way out, but found none. He was effectively trapped inside a steel box with no exit. So he waited. Minutes slipped into hours which turned in such a mind-numbing manner that it was anyone's guess how long it took before...
The sound of tumblers turning coming from the door jolted him out of the haze he had been in. The door opens, and immediately two soldiers come in, moving in a stalking fashion, guns hefted and pointed at Caleb's torso. Behind them comes an imperious officer, noticeably lacking any form of weapon but his manner and air. Though he was short, he seemed to be looking down at Caleb as if he was some form of vagabond that had tracked mud through his house. His mansion.
"On your feet, worm," said the officer in a Rheinland accent. "We're moving you to a more secure location." Caleb couldn't help but laugh on the inside as he was forced to his feet by the soldiers and spirited away to an Armored Transport. Launching, it flew some distance and landed again, apparently on a station. As he was brought outside the ship, cuffed, he saw something similar to the Cruiser, though larger. Rows of Wraths lined the docking bay that the Transport had settled in, as well as two Wraths beside the Transport. Caleb was led to another cell, this one more official, with a bunk, sink, and toilet. He settled down on the bunk as the door slammed shut and locked.
As Vincent stalked down the claustrophobic corridors of Barrow, Nicole and Ben trailed behind him. They had tried to dissuade him, but all attempts had been as futile as bashing your head against a brick wall. They finally decided to help him, if only to keep him from getting himself killed. Plans raced through his mind, but he dismissed any number of them. It all depended on...
"Where is he being held? We need to know that. Not like the damn Rheinlanders are gonna hold up a sign..." he slipped back into his reverie, Nicole and Ben looking at each other in slight confusion over Vincent's state. His wandering brings them to the flight deck, and eventually he sits in his cockpit, staring into space. He has to do something, but what he does not know. His hands begin to move over the controls, as if by their own volition, and he launched. Ben and Nicole seemed about to launch, but he told them to stay and hold down the fort. Not sure if what he was doing was right, he set a course for Bering and Freeport 2.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Eagle set down on the Freeport's landing paid, and Vincent disembarked. He walked to the bar, attempting to seem cool and relaxed, while inside he was something totally different. His plan was simple: find a Zoner that had the technical expertise to find out where Caleb was by hacking the Rheinland Military communication system. As he entered the bar, his gaze swept the bar. Spotting a Zoner that sure as hell looked nerdy enough to fit the bill, he sidled up the bench next to him and said, "Would you happen to know anything about security systems and how to gain access?"
The Zoner, not moving his head yet speaking to Vincent, said, "Depends... on how many credits we're talking about."
Vincent pulled a credit chip out of his pocket and slid it across the table. The Zoner looked at him askance, then Vince inwardly groaned and slid another chip across the table. This had better be worth it.
Vincent's Eagle alighted upon one of the landing pads on Barrow. He came out with a look of triumph on his face, a data chip in his hand. Apparently Caleb had been transfered to a maximum security cell onboard the
RNC Lindau, a Battleship currently located in close orbit of the sun in Hamburg. The beginnings of a plan were hatching in his mind, but he had to move quickly. He was do to be transfered to the prison station proper in a week, where he would end up out of their reach. His plan involved more than a simple extraction. No, from the beginning his ambitious spirit was making clear brush-strokes on every detail. But first, he needed resources. He needed money, which the Xenos didn't have. It was late, so he decided to sleep on it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
He awoke the next morning, still with no idea what to do, and got dressed. As he was pulling his shirt on, the idea hit him like a .38 slug. Abandoning the rest of his clothes, he ran out the room and to the command center, sending a comm message to Jack to meet him there. This was huge. More than a few people in the corridors looked at him like he was crazy, a half-dressed man at a dead-run, but he didn't care. He burst through the door to the command center, surprising more than a few people.
"I got it!" he panted, leaning on the door frame. "God damn, I got it!"
Jack walked in just then, and saw Vince, who proceeded to tell his plan. He pulled up the schematics for the
RNC Lindau that he had logged in the computer system, and started by saying "Caleb is being held here," pointing at a room highlighted in red amongst the sea of green that was the rest of the ship. "It's currently in the Hamburg system, and for the moment its escort is away on another mission," he said, delving into some other information the Zoner had provided. "Now, my plan calls for us disabling the security system, and then turning it on to our benefit: mow down the Rheinlanders with their own automated defense systems. They, of course, include wall- and ceiling- mounted turrets that track hostiles based on their ID. We can reset it to fire on all Military ID codes, and that would serve the ship to us on a silver platter. Then, we take it and fly it out of there."
Everyone was looking at him as if he were some sort of crazy. Jack started slowly, "Son, you dun' gotta be kiddin' me. You be suggestin' we takes dat whole floatin' city out of under dem dirty Rhienland filth's noses? An' hows we gunna run dat thing anyways? We dun' got enough money to be keepin' us in fighters let alone dat ol' heap."
"That's what I thought, and the problem that hung me up," interjected Vincent, "but hear me out. How do the words 'kidnap', 'ransom', and 'Ageira's CEO' sound to you?"
"I'm listening," Jack said, and Vincent spun a yarn.
//Feedback please//
It all started on Ames Research Station in Kepler. A Zoner Dromedary loaded up with crates of various materials, launched, and was escorted to the Colorado system by three Hawks. At least, it was supposed to be escorted to Colorado - Xenos cut the lane halfway there, and no less than eight Hawks jumped the the little convoy. Quickly overwhelmed, the escorts were destroyed and the Dromedary disabled, which was then forcibly boarded by a Hawk full of ill-equipped Xeno shock troopers, "trained" to quickly overwhelm opposition in a most disorientating manner. They succeeded this time, as the Dromedary only had three people aboard, who quickly surrounded amidst the shouting and hefting of light arms. The Dromedary changed course to Nome base, and was escorted by all eight Hawks. Once there, the cargo was offloaded and stolen, and new crates were loaded on - these filled with explosives. Also, Jared Moorely boarded the freighter, one of the more recent recruits to the Xeno Guard. The troops that had originally taken the ship left, and were replaced by a pilot, copilot, and an extra guard. Quickly firing up, the Dromedary flew back to the Colorado jump gate and went through with little comment.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Meanwhile, on Freeport 2, more Xenos were at work. Vincent and Ben managed to get information out of a Zoner on a convoy heading for Hamburg. Once they had its location and estimated time of arrival, they returned to their Eagles and launched. Heading down the trade lane some, they waited, and soon along came the hapless convoy. It was a single Transport with 2 Hawk escorts, easily disabled and dispatched. Soon, the Eagles were attaching themselves to the forward section of the Transport, disgorging 20 well-trained Xeno Guard marines, who were either LN or LSF defectors or were trained by defectors. They quickly and effortlessly assumed control, and resumed course for Planet Hamburg. The Eagles were flown by remote back to Barrow - they wouldn't be needing them from then on.
When the Transport moored with the planet's docking system, several Xenos in Rheinland garb disembarked, and went searching for the supply transport for the
Lindau. After some time, they found it: an Armored Transport idling on a pad some two miles from where they had started. Passing by, the twenty-odd Xenos quickly ran up the ramp and pulled concealed handguns out from their jackets. The Military guards were quickly overpowered and incapacitated, each one cuffed and locked in the cargo bay. The pilot, with a gun to his head, agreed to act as if everything was normal. About twenty minutes later, they were cleared for launch. With barely a tremor in his voice, the pilot managed to get out the information he had to. Two RM Wraths entered formation, and they were off, entering cruise and angling towards the sun.
The pilot of the transport managed to keep up banter with the escorts, despite the fact that Vincent had a gun leveled on his head the entire time. By the time they reached the
Lindau, he was sweating bullets.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Dromedary landed on Pueblo Station, ostensibly to offload optronics and the like from Kusari. In reality, it offloaded several station-rocking-sized bombs. Jared Moorely, dressed as a civilian, disembarked and made his way to the nearest terminal. He pulled up a layout of the base, then struck off for where the CEO was right now - a board meeting in the main conference room. It wasn't far. He walked by the door once, noting the two guards standing on either side of the door. He kept moving, not breaking stride once. Then, as he rounded the corner, he turned around and started back. This time, right as he came abreast of the first guard, he slammed his elbow into his gut and brought his leg up fast to slam into the abdomen of the other, as well. They both went down like oaks. Throwing the door open, Jared pulled out his gun and shot into the roof.
"Nobody move!"