Mactan was unusually crowded, the rock having been a graveyard - as it always was. Not with Lane Hackers either, but rather with Legionnaries. The small, well armed squad of twenty men, stood outside of mooring fixture #2, preparing to enter the LNS-Tyrant, a siege cruiser subdued(//Post 1414) a day earlier.
"The belly of the beast" Reynard said.
"And Malrone here is going to show us around..."
The assembled Legionnaires set their gaze on Malrone, groaning and whispering, a couple even spitting towards the navy captain to show their sheer disdain for the man. In the chaos, one of them pulled out a sidearm and pointed it towards Malrone's head.
"Traitor! We should execute the dog for his crimes now!" said the young soldier, clearly still green to the profession.
Reynard swung around and planted his hand firmly on the Private's arm, forcing it downwards.
"But Lord Com-"
Reynard sighed and shook his head.
"Violence, Private Stevens, is a last resort. It's more efficient to use the man rather than killing him off. Besides, wasn't that the purpose of the Legion in the first place? To change all that? The entire reason for our existence is to start doing things in Liberty the just and right way."
Private Stevens looked up towards Reynard, fire still in his eyes, but only for a split second before he lowered his head and put away his piece.
"My apologies, Lord Commander, I just thought-"
"You'll not be participating in this operation, Stevens. I want to see you in my quarters later. Are we clear?"
The young man nodded before turning, head still hung in shame, as he slumped back down the corridor.
"Not so barbaric as you expected, Malrone?"
Malrone looked back towards Reynard and simply nodded, mildly shocked that he'd just been saved by the so called Lord Commander once more.
"Right, Malrone and Fleet Admiral Wainwright know Libertonian capital ship interior better than any other minds in the Legion - or at least the ones we have at our disposal."
Surveying the men arranged before him, assuring himself of his clarity, he cleared his throat and continued.
"We shall break up into two firesquads, one led by Admiral Wainwright, and the other by myself and Malrone. We're to subdue every crew member who refuses to come quietly. Do not shoot unless it is absolutely necessary. I'm more concerned about potential hull breaches and fuel or coolant leaks than that poor hulk's crew, but stay frosty regardless."
Reynard looked towards Wainwright, who nodded.
"Firesquad number two shall consist of myself, Major Andrew LeBlanc, Major Kraven, PFC Fauk, PFC Daniels, PFC Mitchells, PFC Hendrick, PFC Hopkins, and PFC Keller. We're to proceed to checkpoints Gamma and Delta before linking up with firesquad one at checkpoint Zeta - Gamma being the armoury, Delta being the engine room, and Zeta being back at the airlock." Wainwright finished, taking a deep breath after doing so.
Reynard surveyed his men once more and looked at Malrone, letting him finish up the speech.
"Right then.. me and Reynard will be leading firesquad one.. don't worry, I'll have a gun pointed to my head the entire time no doubt." He chuckled before continuing
"Firesquad one will be made up of... Stripped-of-all-rank Jack Malrone also known as the guy giving the damn speech, Lord Com... Reynard, Star Captain Taneru, Major Bennington, Lieutenant Lake, Lieutenant Linux, PFC Yacobi, PFC Galway, Annnd we're thankfully missing Stevens. Firesquad one has the dirty work, so to speak. Checkpoint Alpha is the reactor. We'll head there first to make sure we're not getting Gamma Rays or god knows what else leaked all over us. After that it's onto Checkpoint Beta, that being the bridge, where we'll probably have some sort of annoying ambush laid out for us if anyone is still on that bucket."
Orders given, the two squads marched down the mooring fixture into the airlock, totally oblivious to the horror story awaiting them on the other side...
Captain Brendan Colins lay slouched in his captains chair with his feet on the control panel in front of him on the bridge of his siege cruiser, the LNS-Tyrant. He had been sitting there for almost a day waiting for his captors to come aboard and get himself and the crew off their new trophy.
He sat on the bridge alone. Most crew members had gone to try and help others and fix what they could despite most of the ships systems and tools being offline due to the lack of power. The main concern had been the reactor, for when the mortar that destroyed engines hit it had done much more damage to the ship. The shockwave itself was enough to disrupt the reactor and adding in the fact it was working at full capacity to charge the capacitors for the main cannon when it was disrupted. It was amazing that it hadnt become out of control and blown the ship apart. Colins had personally overseen the re-stabilisation and deactivate of the reactor. With the core being breached it was too risky to have kept the power giving reaction going for the risk of radiation poisoning to the crew being almost certain. Afterward though he returned to his chair and let the crew fill in the time in any way they wished.
Just as he was about to go back to sleep he heard footsteps coming up the corridor that lead straight to the bridge.
Captain, Ive received news that soldiers have begun entering the airlock to the ship...
About time wouldnt you say White? I was getting bored sitting here. He got up, stretched and began walking with Julia White, the second in command aboard the Tyrant, to the entrance to the bridge.
Alright, tell the crew to try and get into open areas where they can all be seen, or if they can back to their quarters. Most likely these guys want the ship and not the crew so I want everyone out of their way.
Julia simply nodded and began to walk back down the corridor when Colins voice echoed after her.
Oh one more thing. Make sure none of the crew comes up this way, Ive got a nice little surprise for anyone who comes up that corridor. Julia looked round to see the captain waving something in the air.
"A bloody Gauss rifle" She thought. "How the hell did he get that aboard?"
All right captain, anything else?
A beer and a bath would be great. Now go do you job. Julia shook her head as she continued walking.
Because the emergency power was only enough to power the life support the message couldnt be delivered using the speaker system throughout the ship. Instead she would have to organise runners to spread the message around the ship as fast as possible.
Navigating the ship was almost impossible. Panels were ripped off and tossed meters down the corridors. Pipes leaked all sorts of different substances. The worst spills belonging to what was left of the coolant system which had been vaporised by the heat of the reactor during the minutes after the destruction of the engines. As she navigated the ship it was clear that the Hellfire Legion where going to have one hell of a clean up to do...
Julia White walked down the corridor leading from crew quarters, nearly tripping over a pile of debris on her way out. Most of the crew had been obedient enough, packing up and heading to what little was left of their rooms as ordered, and she was now making her way to the engine room. The elevator was shot, so she would have to take the stairs. As she neared deck four, whispers could be heard from the engine room up ahead.
"You got that right, David! We're not handing this ship over to any goddamned Lane Hackers or "Legion" or whatever it is the bastards call themselves."
Julia rounded the corner and pryed the door open to the engine room, which fell down unceremoniously with a loud crash.
She made it a point to brush the dust off her officers uniform before speaking up.
"All of you, to your quarters. Now."
The men gathered there waited for a few seconds, stunned, before bursting out in laughter.
"So wha, you're with the Legion now or summat, White? Well even if you want to pussy out 'n surrender..."
Chief engineer Johnathan Williams finished the other mans reply.
"We ain't goin' down without a fight!"
"Those are orders from captain Colins himself! I will drag you to your quarters by force if I need to. I will not have you jeopardize the lives of our crew with your insane plan!"
The engineering team stood firm, grins fading as Julia drew her sidearm and pointed it right between the eyes of the chief.
"I will NOT hesitate to fire. All of you to your quarters, N-"
Julia shrieked as Johnathan strode up to her matter-of-factly, knocking the gun from her hand with a flick of his arm, and gripped Julia by her throat.
"Mark, David.. tie her down... The rest of you, get on with overloading the core already!"
Firesquad two readied themselves to proceed towards checkpoint Gamma, the Armoury. Fleet Admiral Wainwright led them out.
"Major LeBlanc, you and Hopkins take point. Major Kraven, bring up the rear with Mitchells. The rest of you, with me. Keep you weapons ready. Remember, we're here to take control of the ship, not kill its crew. Fire ONLY if fired upon. We're doing this room by room, so keep your eyes open. We cannot afford to miss anything."
Room after room was cleared. There was no resistance - in fact there was noone to be found anywhere - and Wainwright started to get jumpy. No crew would allow their vessel to be so easily overrun. He knew that the longer it was quiet, the bigger the explosion would be at the end.
Before long they reached the entrance to the armoury.
"Right, we can expect resistance here. LeBlanc, prepare the charges on the doors. Fast and hard, lads. Don't give them time to think."
All the old knives, that have rusted in my back, I shall drive deep into yours.
Malrone sat and watched as the Legionnaires strapped on their steely armour vests and checked their firing sights. He walked over to Lieutenant Lake, ducking under the low-roof, perking up his voice and narrowing his gaze to a small radio device on the Legionnaires outfit.
Lieutenant, mind if I have a look at that radio there? Just want to check the frequency.
Lake looked suspiciously at Malrone before handing over the radio. He fiddled with it a bit before trying to hand it back to the Lieutenant, who had his hands full polishing his sidearm.
Here you---ah, got your hands full, let me justthere we go
In just a few confusing seconds, Malrone had swapped the radio he was holding for Lakes sidearm, slipping it into the right pocket of his pants. Fortunately, before Lake finally caught up with what just happened, Reynard whistled for squad one to join him in their plan of attack.
Listen up menand Malrone, Who simply rolled his eyes, trying to contain a small laugh and focusing on the blueprints at the same time.
From what Malrones told us, the reactor should be here, with cooling valves at these points and weve detected several radiation leaks in these zones
Malrone interrupted Reynard to add a moot point and continue the briefing.
Best to avoid those zones. Now, theres a clear route to the reactor if we follow this annoyingly zig-zag path. Of course, when I say clear, I mean covered with live electrical wires---
He stopped talking suddenly and turned his head around to Reynard, who was standing to his left, and tried to avoid grinning.
Which reminds me, how are those two guards that got a shocking surprise when they tried to escort me off the Indiana?
With a stern look on his face, Reynard simply pointed to the blueprints.
The plan, Malrone.
He turned his head back around, looking up at the other Legionnaires, hoping for one of them to smile at his horrible joke Seemed to be a tough crowd though.
Anyway, itll be bloody dangerous just getting to the damn reactor, any screw ups and Ill execute you myself. Clear? Good, lets move out men!
Reynard shook his head at Malrone How could a Navy Captain be so annoyingly humorous at a time like this, especially since he probably wouldnt live through the night. Of course, Reynard hadnt picked up on the pistol in his pocket. All Malrone had was eight bullets. Eight bullets to secure his freedom. Now he had to think of a plan
------------------------
As he trekked through the desolated ship, his mind wandered onto the possible escape plans whirling around in his head. Should he take his chances with what was left of the escape pods? Or perhaps the fighter bay would be in better condition? A hard slam on the shoulder by a ripped leather glove soon whipped Malrone back into reality.
Where we headed, Malrone? said Reynard, waving his overly-large assault rifle down each of the different corridors. Malrone starts to chant a childish picking gameReynard quickly lost patience with him.
Just tell me the damn way, Malrone.
Reactors this way. That or open spaceno I was right the first time. Ill even go first, see?
Reynard cautiously followed Malrone, ducking under the various pieces of debris half-ripping through the ceiling.
Christ, you guys do know how to make a mess said Malrone, keeping his eyes trained to the bumpy trail ahead. Reading a half-torn sign on the wall, which said actor, which he assumed meant reactor Not an actors cabin whilst staying aboard.
Malrone tried, in vain, to try and pry the massive reactor door open. Reynard pushed him out of the way and strapped some small packages to the door, ordering his men to move behind some unstable debris.
What? Youre gonna make even more of a mess?! He paused for a moment, before taking cover behind a warped piece of ceiling. Malrone could just see Reynards finger flip back the safety switch and press down hard on the ignition. He braced, expecting the fragile debris to fly across the room, pinning everyone to the walls. Fortunately, the blast was contained, and almost dainty as the reactor door simply fell off its hinges, slamming into the floor and hurling up even more dust into the corridor.
Waving the smoke and dust out of his face, Malrone slowly got up,
Huh. I have to say, that was a pretty neat explosion.
Little more refined than what youre use to?
No, not really stated Malrone quite simply, walking into the glowing reactor core.
Yeesh. This thing suuuure took a beatin. Good thing containments still in place.
Do I dare say the reactor is safe?
You kiddin? This thing is one muon off going critical! He laughed, whilst Reynard simply smiled a little, waving him out of the core.
Guess its just a Physicists kind of joke. We cant leave yet, anyway, Ive got to make sure this thing is stable at least.
Its in one piece, itll last until we can get our own engineers aboard to assess the risk. Now lets move.
Malrone brushed past Reynard, mumbling something about moronic Legionnaires . He knew the next stop was the bridge Which would be the hardest part of the entire mission. He still had to think up what to do with the stolen pistol
------------------------
Slightly out of breath from the long haul zig-zagging across the various decks to get to the bridge, Malrone slouched onto the half-melted wall and managed to say a whole two words.
Through there.
Legionnaires, ready yourselves! Shouted Reynard, giving numerous hand signals to the troops, most of them crouching behind broken-off doorways towards the main bridge. Malrone looked around at the troops and approached Reynard.
Im here to show you guys around the ship, right? Well, Im also here to prevent loss of life. All I ask is that you let me try and talk the Captain out.
Reynard looked sceptical at Malrone before nodding slightly and quickly turning around to the rest of the squad.
Stand down. Malrones having a crack at this.
He started walking silently down the corridor towards the bridge, every Legionnaire staring at him. Reaching the bridge doors, he gently knocked on them, each knock echoing through the barren, frozen hallways of the ship.
Captain, this is...Captain Malrone of the Liberty Navy. Odd circumstances to be meeting for the first time, I know, but believe it or not Im here to try and save lives today. Normally Id be with you in kicking some damned Hellfire asshowever I think surrender would be your best option on this occasion.
He winced, waiting for the ominous shout of traitor or Legionnaire through the thick steel doors. Instead, he heard numerous clinks of metal and the gigantic doors creaking open no more than a few inches. Through the gap, he could see the Captain saluting Malrone.
This isnt worthy of a salute, Captain we---
Malrone stopped when the glint of a pistol came from the Captains holster, his left hand unclicking the safety. Reaching for his own, concealed weapon, Malrone was about to dive out of the way when a small object flew past his head, into the bridge.
Grenade! Shouted Reynard.
Running from the doors, Malrone dived for the floor as an ear piercing shockwave emanated from the small gap in the doors. Lying face down on the floor, his hands gripped firmly over his ears, Malrone slowly opened one eye to see Reynards leathery glove reaching down. Looking up, he saw Reynards wide-reaching grin,
Ever heard of flash-bangs, Malrone? Cmon, get up.
Mumbling as Reynard helped him to his feet, Malrone said a lack-lustre thankyou and dusted himself off.
How the hell did you spot the gun through that tiny crack in the door? I barely saw it myself.
I didnt. replied Reynard.
Reynard walked towards the bridge, leaving Malrone standing back for a few seconds He smiled slightly before following Reynard onto the bridge.
"Fire in the hole!!" shouted LeBlanc, ducking back round the corner of the corridor, just before the charges ignited. There was a gentle crack, and a soft vibration felt through the sole of the feet.
"Hopkins, Keller, with me!" called Wainwright as he strode down the corridor towards the armoury doors. He pulled two stun grenades out of his belt, throwing one to PFC Keller. "Hopkins, get the manual control to the door. Keller, as soon as the door opens, chuck your grenade in to the left. I'll go right. They'll have a barricade of sorts, no doubt, so get the grenade as close to the back wall as you can. Ready? Ok, on three. One........" Wainwright and Keller took up their positions on either side of the doors.
"Two.........." Wainwright nodded to Hopkins, who readied himself at the manual release to the doors.
"Three!" As Hopkins hit the door release, Wainwright and Keller primed the grenades.
Nothing happened. The door stayed firmly closed.
"****!!" Wainwright stared urgently at Hopkins, who had a slightly panicked look in his eyes. Hopkins shrugged, unable to provide an explaination.
"LeBlanc!" Major LeBlanc hurried up to Wainwright. "Might you have screwed up with those charges?"
"Not a chance, sir!" he answered immediately, while eying the grenades still help by the Admiral and Keller. "See, here and here," he pointed to burn marks on the doors where the charges went off. "Perfect concussion pattern, sir. No way the locking bolts survived the blast. This door's been deliberately jammed."
"Right. Hold this!" Wainwright shoved the primed grenade carefully into LeBlanc's hands. "Bloody cheap Ageira rubbish, I'm afraid Major. Can't do nothing but throw it once it's been primed. Hopkins, with me! Major, Keller, be ready with those bloody grenades!"
He strode down the corridor, stopping about thirty feet from the doors to the armoury, and looked up. A small access hatchway was directly above. He smiled briefly.
"Bloody lucky they still build these in! Hopkins, give me a boost." Placing his foot into Hopkins cupped hands, Wainwright powered up at the hatch, knocking it loose and hauling himself through. Lying flat in the crawl space, he stuck his head back out.
"Hopkins, get the others ready. The doors should open soon, and when they do those grenades had bloody well better go off quickly. My life likely depends on it."
As Hopkins saluted and headed back to the rest of the group, Wainwright eased himself along, as silently as possible. He reached back for his sidearm, and a concussion grenade, then continued his measured progress. At the next hatch panel in the floor of the crawl space he stopped. Angled slats allowed him a view of the doorway. Two junior officers stood on one side of the doors, and the mechanism was jammed, on the other, by a hefty metal panel placed in the running tracks. The grenade he held would certainly shift the metal panel blocking the doors, it was the guns of those already in the room he was worried about.
He lifted the access hatch ever so carefully, and took a deep breath. Now came the risky bit. He primed the grenade, and leaned into the room, throwing the grenade towards the metal panel, and pulling himself back into the access hatch. Shouts of alarm came from the room as they realised what was happening. The grenade bounced once and nestled between the panel and the wall. As the two men by the doors raised their weapons to fire, the grenade exploded, catapulting the panel across the room. The blast from the grenade threw the men by the door off their feet, and the main door cracked open.
Fire in the hole!! came the call, as two stun grenades bounced into the room. Small arms fire was already pounding into the crawl space, the bullets hazardously close to Wainwrights position. He covered his ears and curled as much as he could, trying to wedge himself in. The grenades exploded with vicious efficiency, and Wainwright felt an eardrum tear. His ears ringing, he pulled himself to the hatchway and dropped into the room. The Legionnaires were there already, weapons trained on six soldiers lying prone on the floor. Four were behind a barricade, half of which hard been torn apart by the metal panel that had been blocking the doors. They were groaning. The two that had been by the doors were silent and unmoving.
Hopkins, Fauk, bind these men and guard them. When theyre up and complaining, get them out. Major Kraven, check the two by the door. Kraven crouched by the two prone figures. At the first he felt for a pulse, before nodding briefly. At the second he shook his head. Wainwright pulled out his communicator.
Firesquad one, Firesquad one. This is Firesquad two. We have secured the Armoury. One fatality on their side, sir. Were proceeding to Checkpoint Delta. He paused briefly before continuing. Sir, I've got a bad feeling about this. Theres been too little resistance so far. Theyre planning something, I just know it.
All the old knives, that have rusted in my back, I shall drive deep into yours.
A few feet outside the door, Reynard raised his assault rifle, gesturing for the surrounding Legionnaires to do so as well. Barrels pointed firmly towards the smoking pile of wreckage in the center of the bridge, Reynard paused for a moment before silently pointing at Lieutenant Linux and PFC Galway, then flipping his finger towards the bridge. The two men nodded before rushing in each checking the sides of the blast door before searching the smoking heap for survivors.
Reynard kept his gaze - and rifle - fixed on the situation before Wainwright's voice cracked over his radio communicator.
Firesquad one, Firesquad one. This is Firesquad two. We have secured the Armoury. One fatality on their side, sir. Were proceeding to Checkpoint Delta. He paused briefly before continuing. Sir, I've got a bad feeling about this. Theres been too little resistance so far. Theyre planning something, I just know it.
"Understood Wainwright. Keep on your course to checkpoint Delta, we've almost subdued the captain and will proceed to your location as soon as we've got him."
Reynard released his thumb from the transmitter button, frowning. Wainwright was right, but they had to get the captain first.
Lieutenant Linux overturned a piece of sheet metal revealing a hairy arm. Leaning over to check its pulse, he turned his back towards Reynard and shouted.
"Got him sir! Still alive, but unconscious. Shall we dig him out and tie him up?"
Reynard simply nodded, gritting his teeth. Snapped out of thought by flashing red lights down the corridor followed by a synthetic female voice over the ships intercom.
"Warning, engine core critical. Heatsink integrity destabilizing. Advise immediate evacuation."
"Frak." Reynard cursed under his breath.
"Taneru, Malrone, Yacobi, Lake with me. The rest of you, get the captain onto Mactan and tie him up there. Don't let any overzealous Hackers get him either."
Reynard shot a venom glance at Malrone, raising his rifle to his head once more.
"You'd better get us out of this one."
"I don't want to die in this hell hole any more than you do Reynard. This way..."
Malrone strode down the corridor as fast as he could go without looking suspicious and stared at a badly charred and slightly bent door briefly before kicking it in and walking through.
"We follow this walkway until we reach a staircase on the starboard side of the ship. From there we go down to deck four, head to the aft end of the ship, make a right, and that'll take us right into the engine room. Of course, this is all assuming that we don't run into any other not-so-natural disasters along the way... "
Malrone explained to Reynard, who nodded and prodded the barrel of his rifle at Malrone's neck sharply.
The remaining soldiers lined up into single file, and began jogging down the cramped hall, equipment rattling.
Turning his head towards back whilst still keeping a steady pace, he shouted out to the Legionnaires.
"One last thing, might want to watch your step."
As they continued jogging on, the scenery around them changed to a large cylindrical opening, dimly lit by a red light, the footing below them becoming a rickety grated walkway, beneath which was a massive object, matching the shape of the room which the Legionnaires could only assume was the main gun capacitor.
"Why is it that the gravitation systems never give out..." Reynard thought, coming to the second a chunk of fence esque plating gave out under his foot.
He needed to stay focused, or none of them would make it out of this alive.
"Right lads, this is where things are no doubt going to get extremely dangerous. Fauk, Daniels, Mitchells, get these prisoners onto Mactan, you lot get to be safe." They nodded, and headed off immediately, the prisoners, tightly bound, a few paces ahead of them. "The rest of you, we're heading for the engine room. This is not going to be easy. Understand this, we will suffer casualties in this little run. If you see someone go down, just get them out of the line of fire if you can. But do not, I repeat DO NOT expose yourself unnecessarily. Take out a target when you can, otherwise play it safe. I don't want any bloody heroics from any of you, right? That's a job for me and Joyeuse!"
The remaining Legionnaires shared a chuckle at that, and they headed out. The corridors became shadowed as emergency lighting started to dominate. Dislodged panels showed burnt out wiring, and sparks showered occasionally from ceiling relays. Wainwright reflected that this was just like a scene from one of the many low budget shows hed seen on the entertainment channels over the years.
They reached the main entrance to engineering without mishap. Looking up at the closed doors, Wainwright called the men to him.
Okay, this is it. From here on in, expect every square inch you step on to go boom. Theres two routes to the engine room from here. Major Kraven, you take Hopkins and Keller and head left once were through these doors. Major LeBlanc, Hendrick, youre with me. Were going right. The Legionnaires nodded their understanding. Major Kraven, get us through these doors.
Kraven moved up to the doors. Carefully he started to remove the control panel.
Booby trap! he called. Dont worry though. Whoever set this is either an idiot, or wanted it found. Ill have it safe in just a..
He reached gently behind the panel. Ever so carefully he withdrew a small metallic device, which he then threw to Wainwright.
Triggering device. If wed tried to open the door, something goes boom. Probably up there. He pointed to the ceiling above the door. Give me a boost up. Need a closer look.
Wainwright moved over and cupped his hands, offering Kraven the stirrup. Kraven rose up to ceiling level, and carefully pressed at the panels there. One moved. As Kraven looked at what lay beyond, he whistled gently.
What do you see, Major?
Not good, sir. Not good. Theres an mix of plastique and ball-bearings up here. If this goes off, you can kiss your haircut goodbye. And pretty much everything below it. Its crude, but viciously effective. Dont move, sir. I think I can see the wiring. Now, if I can just Kraven went quiet as he reached towards the explosives. The seconds ticked by. Sweat beaded on Wainwrights brow as the strain increased.
Major?
Nearly there sir.this should do it..there!! Kraven dropped down, the explosive device held in his hand. Thats it clear. There was another triggering mechanism, attached to the doors I think. Doors open, this goes boom. He walked to the control panel and pressed a button and the doors slid open.
Flashing red lights lent the scene a hellish glow, as a synthetic female voice announced:
The Legionnaires shared glances. Time was running out.
Right lads! I don't know about you, but Ive no intention of dying today. To the engine room, double time. Wainwright headed right, followed by LeBlanc and Hendrick. The rest went left. They reached the main doors to engineering at exactly the same time.
All clear, sir. called Major Kraven. No sign of anyone or anything.
Same for us. I guess whatever is waiting for us is on the other side of that door. Major Kraven, check for booby traps again, Major LeBlanc, set a charge on the door.
Wainwright pulled out the communicator again.
Sir? Were at the engine room, and about to go in. Any further orders?
A burst of static, overlaid by a rhythmic ticking, was the response he recieved. Wainwright was sure he could hear Joyeuses voice in there, but it was too distorted to make out what was being said.
Damn! Short range jamming device! Kraven, LeBlanc! Are we set?
Yessir! they responded in unison.
Right, blow the door!
The Legionnaires moved up against the walls of the corridor and covered their ears, as Major LeBlanc drew out his detonator.
Fire in the hole! he called, and there was a deafening crack. As the smoke cleared, they could see the doors to the engine room hanging loose. Wainwright peered past the doors, trying to see what waited beyond. A hail of small arms fire from the engineering team within filled the short corridor that led into the main engine room, and Wainwright jerked his head back.
Hendrick, Keller! Chuck a couple of stun grenades in there. Lets shake things up a bit!
The two PFCs threw a grenade each down into the engine room. The grenades went off, but the small-arms fire kept up. There was no way they were getting into the engine room by this route, not without most of them dying.
Bloody hell! Wainwright shouted to LeBlanc, as rounds ricocheted all around. I bloody well hope Joyeuse gets here soon!
Yessir! And lets hope he uses a different door, eh?
All the old knives, that have rusted in my back, I shall drive deep into yours.
Reynard prodded the back of Malrone's neck with his rifle, this time harder than ever before.
"Ow! knock it off will ya? I'm going as fast as I can." Malrone grumbled as he fiddled with the delicate wiring of the control panel.
Reynard simply frowned while he waiting for Malrone to get the damned door open. He was running out of patience, and judging by the transmission from Wainwright earlier and the sound of gunfire up ahead, they were running out of time as well.
As if to echo his thoughts, the synthetic voice once again cracked over the intercom.
"Warning, engine core critical. Ten minutes until total heatsink collapse. Advise immediate evacuation."
"Frak you!" Reynard shouted as he pushed Malrone to the floor and kicked the door in.
"Or how about you go frak yourse-" Malrone never got a chance to complete the sentence as bullets began ricocheting off the wall behind them.
Reynard and Yacobi were already crouched on either side of the door putting bursts into the well dug in resistance force in the engine room. Reynard took a shot to the shoulder and flinched as PFC Yacobi returned the favor with one of the crew. They weren't going to make any progresss at this rate. "I count at least ten in there, sir!" shouted Yacobi as she pulled away from the door to put in a fresh clip.
"I'm also seeing gunfire from another entrance about thirty meters ahead, up on the left. Must be Wainwright's team." She finished as she moved back to fire off another burst.
the echoing bangs and deafening clinking of metal impacting metal were cut short by a low clunking sound, as a small round, grey object hit the floor and rolled into the center of the Legionnaires.
"TAKE COVER!" Reynard shouted, throwing himself away from the door and behind a thick wrecked panel at the end of the corridor.
This was it. It's all over, Reynard thought. Even if he did survive the blast then the rest of the Legionnaires would be dead or fatally wounded. He held his body flat to the floor behind the panel, head covered in his arms, thoughts only being broken by a loud shout from Yacobi.
"Take this you sick, twisted, sons of bitches! For the Legion, for Liberty!" She screamed, picking up the grenade and running into the engine room, fast as her legs could carry her. Several bullets impacted her stomach and chest, not stopping her as she flung the grenade into a group of six crew members, just in the nick of time.
Ayana Yacobi fell to her knees grinning, vision fading to black, as she watched the grenade go off, the flesh and bone of the crews bodies being rent and charred by the blast.
"Give 'em hell, Reynard.." she whispered as her lifeless body collapsed to the floor, continuing to grin.
The fire from the engine room kept them pinned down. All the legionnaires had taken superficial injuries from ricocheting bullets, but no-one was seriously hurt. Suddenly a womans voice was heard over the crackle of gunfire
"Take this you sick, twisted, sons of bitches! For the Legion, for Liberty!"
Wainwright risked a glance down the corridor as the gunfire directed towards them suddenly lessened. What he saw twisted his stomach, as PFC Yacobi sprinted into the engine room. Bullets tore into her, small puffs of blood erupting from her chest and legs. As she started to fall, she threw a small object towards the engineering team. The look of horror on their faces was short-lived, as the grenade exploded at just below head height.
NOW! roared Wainwright, leaping to his feet. He led the charge into the blood-spattered engine room, closely followed by the rest of the legionnaires. A single shot from his side arm felled an engineer, and as the rest swung around to counter the threat, Joyeuse and his crew ran in. Caught in the crossfire, the remaining men were ripped apart, before they could return fire.
"Warning, engine core critical. Four minutes until total heatsink collapse. Advise immediate evacuation."
I hope you know a way to fix this! Wainwright shouted as he moved up to Joyeuse. If you dont, were buggered. Well and truly!
Sir!! We got a live one. came a shout from Major Kraven. Doesnt look badly hurt either! Kraven reached down and bodily hauled up the engineer.
Get him over here! shouted Joyeuse. Malrone!" he raised his rifle to point at the forehead of the Liberty officer. "Time to prove you dont want to die today! Either you persuade this engineer here to stop the heatsink collapse, or we're all dead, starting with you.
"Warning, engine core critical. Three minutes until total heatsink collapse. Advise immediate evacuation."
All the old knives, that have rusted in my back, I shall drive deep into yours.
"Better start getting your men out of here, Reynard!"
Malrone shouted, stepping over the debris and bodies, raising his rifle and pointing it towards the engineer.
"Fix it." He ordered.
"I c-can't!" The engineer stammered with more than just a hint of fear in his voice.
"Do you want to die? I don't even need to shoot you, if that reactor goes then each and every one of us are dead, including yours truly. You want to be responsible for the death of a primary fleet officer?" He shouted at the engineer, pointing the rifle even closer to his head.
"W-we can't shut it down, they already made sure of that. We'd have to redirect p-power to the main gun and then fire it off.. b-but at this point it might kill us!" Malrone frowned and looked hastily around the engine room, as if trying to figure something out.
"We don't have that kind of time.. we're not going to make it to the bridge.. isn't there any way you can redirect the power conduits manually?" He said, half talking to himself as much as the engineer
"It's risky but.. over on that wall there, there's a bunch of backup switches that can be flipped to redirect power.." He stuttered, gesturing towards a wall to the far left of the engine room.
"Warning, engine core critical. One minute until total heatsink collapse. Advise immediate evacuation."
"Show me!" Malrone shouted, the both of them already running towards the panel full of switches and monitors, all of which looked Gallian to Malrone.
Fiddling with various dials and buttons, the engineer suddenly reached for a large switch, conveniently marked "Main Cannon".
All at once, the lighting throughout the ship dimmed, and a warm electric crackling surrounded the two of them, followed by an earth shattering explosion.
"HIT THE DECK!" Malrone bellowed, throwing himself against the floor, not expecting it to do very much.
From Mactan, Joyeuse and the rest of the Legionnaires watched as the main gun of the Tyrant came to life, completely tearing of the frontal ribbing and ripping through the space before it. The huge, uneven beam lasted nearly two minutes before giving out, leaving the Tyrant completely drained.
Malrone and the survivors walked through the airlock into Mactan, surrounded by Legionnaires, Hackers, and even a few Raiders.
"Nicely done, Malrone." Joyeuse smiled, yanking a golden star shaped pin off of his uniform and placing it in Malrone's hand.
"The Golden Star, one of the greatest decorations a Legionnaire can get."
Malrone looked at the thing, grinned, and proceeded to toss it into a ventilation shaft.
"You'll find the Indiana in good repair, barring a forward gun, but I trust you can get a new one of those easily enough. The captain of the Tyrant will be kept for interrogation, but the rest of the crew are free to go aboard the Indiana, which should be here shortly."
Malrone simply blinked, turning towards one of Mactan's windows, looking out to see the Indiana coated in a brand new layer of Iridium reinforced plating, save for a severely worn hull panel on the front of the ship reading "Indiana - Department of Doom".
"Well, there's your ride. Cya, and thanks for all the ships."
Malrone shook his head and laughed, walking towards the airlock followed by the Tyrant's crew, glad to take command of his old ship once again...
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