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Elite Dangerous: Gemini
Chapter II: Boarding
July 19th, 3301 A.D
Payayan System
Leon, fully suited up in his ICARUS combat armor, whispered an unheard apology to Marie for what he was about to do to her Sidewinder. It was what she'd experiment on to figure out what would and wouldn't work with her Dáinsleif, constantly pushing the limits of what was possible. If she didn't already have a thriving business, she'd make a fine private Engineer.
Opening a storage pocket on his armor, he withdrew several small, thin-packed packets of plastic explosive. From a storage pocket just under that, he withdrew a small, thin coil of detcord. Looking up up at the canopy covering the cockpit of the Sidewinder, he focused on all the faces of the people he cared about within his mind, steeling himself for what was to come and giving himself a reason to come back alive from what he was about to do for the second time.
At first, it was cute to watch the young Imperial Princess pace back and forth, but Marie soon realized she was more worried than she should have been because she didn't know very much about Leon other than his unusual generosity.
"Eri, if you keep pacing, you're going to wear a hole through my ship." Marie said, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work. Instead, Eri stopped and sank to her knees, holding them close to her. Marie stepped out of the Commander's chair and sat next to the girl.
"What has Leon told you about himself, Eri?" Eri looked up to her, a mix of emotions on her face.
"Not much. He has an Imperial Nanoblade, but doesn't seem to be royalty. He seems to know how to use it, though. He flies a ship that doesn't represent how much money he apparently has. But he's kind. He saved me. He also took me to a 'Mexican' restaurant and showed me food I hadn't ever had before, but he hasn't said much about himself."
Marie let out a laugh. "No, I can't imagine he did. He doesn't bring up his past unless someone asks. Believe it or not, because I know you've probably gotten a bad impression due to who you are, but Leon was a Federal Marine."
Eri's eyes widened. Leon was a Fed? But.. They were supposed to be barbarians. Animals. Corporate-sponsored, profit-driven war machines who didn't have an ounce of kindness within them. Was the Nanoblade a trophy? No, that didn't seem like Leon, to take a war trophy.
Eri's thoughts were interrupted as Marie went on after enjoying the look of shock on Eri's face. "I won't go too deep into the mystery that is Leon Caelum, since it's mostly his story to tell. But I can tell you about how he and I met. You see, I was the 'plaything' of a Warlord on a planet called Delarin. That man is the reason I have to use these," She paused, tapping the micro-speakers attached to her neck.
"He had my vocal cords cut so I'd stop yelling at him whenever I saw him. I wanted nothing more than to escape, and one day an explosion rocked the building, and I managed to escape in the chaos. Federal Marines were conducting a raid of all the warlords in the system. I knew I didn't have anything left to go home to on the planet, so I stowed away on one of the Dropships that were landed nearby. As it happened, that was Leon's ship. I managed to stay hidden in the cargo bay for almost two days before I got hungry enough to risk finding some food. Leon caught me trying to sneak into the food storage."
This surprised Eri. Marie was a stowaway like she was on one of Leon's ships?
"I was so scared because he was in his combat armor I couldn't move. I thought 'This is it. I escaped one monster to end up in the lair of another', but he just took off his helmet and asked me if I was hungry. I couldn't speak yet, of course, and at the time I couldn't write or read, either, since before I was 'taken in', I grew up in a poor village as a farmgirl. But he fed me anyways. Clothed me. Introduced me to the crew. All while he could've just spaced me, or hurt me, or took me back to a place where I had nowhere to go."
"Then, he taught me things. How to read and write. He got me my voice back," Marie unconsciously caressed the micro-speakers on her neck. "After about half a year, I started helping out around the ship. The crew was nice to me. Everyone got along just fine, and all that time Leon was in command of this small fleet that was leading raids on pirates and warlords, because 'it was the right thing to do', as he said."
"How'd you end up on Bierce with your own business?" Eri asked, not realizing it was actually a sore subject for Marie.
"I.. Leon received transfer orders one day sending him to one of the Federation's main fleets to command a Corvette's contingent of Marines during battle, since he was a natural leader and all that. He couldn't take me with him, so he set me up with a home in a place he knew would be safe. I was too young to enlist myself at the time. So I didn't have a choice."
"Oh.. I'm sorry. That must have been hard."
Marie let out a small, sad laugh. "Oh Eri, you have no idea."
"What do you mean?" Eri asked. She might not have had as close a relationship to Leon, but she was in a similar position.
Marie stiffened, realizing she'd said something she shouldn't have. "Nothing, dear. Forget I said anything." This time, it was Marie who brought her knees up to her chest, remembering a pain she'd been trying to bury for years. But Eri wouldn't forget it.
Before she could press for information, alarms sounded through Bierce Gateway once again.
The Commander of the Hydra forces stationed outside of Bierce Gateway checked the clock. They'd sent their demands to the leaders of Bierce, and the deadline for a response was almost there. Pulling out a small device, he pressed a button and a screen popped up. He smirked. Their target was still on the station.
He didn't know how she managed to get away from her captors, but he did know that she wouldn't be doing it again. Their employers had big plans for her, and their pay was going to be incredible. Though, if they failed, their punishment would also likely be just as severe. People with pockets that deep and smart enough to use cut-outs of cut-outs to make contact were dangerous and well-connected.
It had been easy enough to blow the girl's ship out of the water. They'd been given the exact time, date, and location of the small escort. However, they didn't expect her to be quite so.. defiant. She'd bitten quite a few of his comrades and yelled obscenities until they drugged her to get her to sleep. Not many Imperials had that kind of fire. Most would wait calmly as their government would almost always pay for their safe return, since it was only really royalty who would be targeted.
However, their job wasn't going that direction. Their employers didn't want the girl going back to the Empire, or running to the Federation. He didn't know what they were going to do with her, but he doubted it was for anything they'd usually be commissioned for. Not at the pay they were getting. No, she was important for some reason.
Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted as a warning alarm sounded on the bridge.
"Warning, Capital-class signature detected. Warning, Capital-class signature detected." The terrifying, familiar foghorn sound of Capital-class ships could be heard exiting witch-space, a kind of black, electrified fog signaling where they would exit.
"What?!"
Moments later, two massive ships could be seen drifting out of these witch-space tears. Two Farragut Battle Cruisers. Almost immediately afterwards, the Farraguts opened fire on Hydra and unleashed a swarm of F63 Condors.
Onboard Bierce Gateway, the Sidewinder's rudimentary computer system warned Leon of the arrival of two Capital-class ships, and the arrival of Petyr Gabriel. One of the Federation's best conductors of fleet warfare. He let out a dark chuckle as he disengaged the docking clamps and prepared to take off.
Admiral Petyr Gabriel stood in the Bridge of his Farragut Battlecruiser, watching as dozens of F63 Condors left their bays and began their usual job of harassing the enemy in a chaotic yet also orderly formation. About half of the defense turrets became active to prevent any pirate from getting too close, and with Hydra boxed in between them and Bierce Gateway, he was able to quickly establish a kind of net to prevent any members of Hydra from escaping.
Moments later, several other ships warped in from behind them, revealing various Federal Gunships, Assault Ships, and even a couple of Corvettes that made up a part of the fleet Petyr Gabriel was in command of. They quickly filled in the gaps that otherwise would be weakpoints, ensuring that their net was as strong as possible. On a sub-screen, an image of a Corvette that wasn't theirs popped up.
"There it is. Relay a message to all ships: Do not engage Hydra's Corvette. I repeat, do not engage Hydra's Corvette." The Admiral said.
"Rodger that, Admiral. Message away. Wait – I'm getting something strange on my sensors. I'll pull it up now."
Then, the image of the Corvette was replaced with one of a Sidewinder that seemed to be somewhat modified. However, it didn't have any weapons deployed. "Sir, their IFF is reading as friendly. Did they hack into our system expecting us not to notice?"
Petyr shook his head. "That's one of ours, Yeoman. Don't worry about him."
"But sir, he's in a Sidewinder. With no weapons. What is he going to do?"
Before Petyr could respond, the video feed showed the canopy blowing out and a man in armor using EVA to float his way gently out of the front of the ship. A mile-wide smirk met Petyr's face. "Something nobody else can, Yeoman. That's what he's going to do."
Leon exited the mailslot much faster than regulation speeds usually permitted, his friend-or-foe tag lighting up green on all Federal-aligned ships' radars. The battle between Admiral Gabriel's forces and Hydra was almost 17 kilometers from the station, giving him plenty room to get things right. Flipping a custom-installed switch on the throttle, the little Sidewinder's speed increased further, hitting nearly 400 meters a second. It was, after all, Marie's test bed for her Dáinsleif. It had plenty of power to get him into position fast enough.
Though, because it was her test bed, not everything functioned how it should have. The inertial dampeners, for example. Though his powered combat armor was doing its best, he could tell if he were in a basic flight suit he'd be having some problems properly controlling the ship. It wasn't set up for complex maneuvers. Just straight-line, high-speed sprints.
Coming into range, he could see Hydra's ships swarming the Farragut, but to little avail. Not only were Farraguts designed for exactly this kind of combat, but his former CO was a genius when it came to fleet battles. He was like a director of a symphony in the way his forces were coordinated. His men trusted him and his calls to the fullest extent, and in return he trusted them. That's why the Federal Corvette went unmolested as Hydra's flagship attempted to command the mishmash of ships it had at its disposal. Because Petyr trusted Leon, and Leon trusted Petyr.
Just over three kilometers out, Leon slowed the Sidewinder to 300 meters a second. Just fast enough to get the job done, but just slow enough to not kill him. He lined up with the very nose of Hydra's Corvette, knowing it wouldn't be moving any time soon. Not while it continued to be left alone and his forces seemingly were at a stalemate. Leon smirked and pressed a button on the remote magnetically attached to his belt. Small explosives planted around the canopy's frame detonated, obliterating the canopy from existence, but maintaining all the structural integrity. The Remlok system within his ICARUS combat armor activated and oxygen continued to flow to his brain. He'd need it for what came next.
Two kilometers out. Acting quickly, Leon pressed the little blue button on the throttle, activating the Frame Shift Drive and jumped from his seat, using the EVA capabilities of his armor to guide him gracefully out of the ship, locking his magnetic boots onto the front of the Sidewinder temporarily as an internal clock counted down. Normally, there was a five second window after a Frame Shift Drive was charged up before it entered what was referred to as 'witchspace', but one of the modifications he made was increasing that timer to ten seconds. Just long enough to get close.
One kilometer out. Leon released the magnetic boots and jumped, engaging the bottom-facing EVA thrusters just enough to get him out of range of the 'bubble' created by the Frame Shift Drive, keeping his momentum of 300 meters a second heading towards the nose of the Corvette. A wolfish grin appeared on his face as the countdown hit zero and the Sidewinder's FSD engaged.
"Checkmate."
"Sir? There's a ship heading right towards us. It's a Sidewinder. No hardpoints, but it's coming fast."
The Commander of the Corvette scoffed. Even as a battering ram, a Sidewinder couldn't bring down the Corvette's shields. "Ignore it. It can't hurt us."
".. Sir? It's.. It's picking up speed. A lot of speed."
"I said ignore it! It can't hurt us!" The Commander yelled, frustrated his forces couldn't force the Federals out of the system or make any real headway in the battle.
Seconds later, an explosion rocked the ship, and the nose of the Corvette disintegrated from a combination of a fast, large impact and the very nature of the FSD on the object that hit them, which erases all foreign matter not within the 'bubble' surrounding it with extreme prejudice.
Over the sound of various alarms and venting atmosphere, the Commander could be heard yelling, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"
Leon couldn't take any time to admire his handiwork as the nose of the Corvette disappeared. Instead, he had to slow down, fully engaging his EVA thrusters to slow his speed to something more manageable. Something that wouldn't kill him on impact. However, he didn't have to worry about alignment. Slowing to almost 30 meters a second, he engaged his magnetic boots and dropped right into the now-open nose of the ship, his powered armor absorbing the rest of the impact that would otherwise cause severe pain and injury. Reaching over his shoulder, he grabbed his trusty rifle and advanced towards the elevator that would take him to the bridge.
Behind him, a bulkhead closed, sealing off the loss of any more atmosphere. The door in front of him opened to show two lightly-armored men who were obviously sent to assess the damage to the ship. Two quick, accurate shots erased the chance of them reporting back, the powerful rounds from Leon's X1A rifle ripping through their chest cavities and leaving behind big, gaping holes. It was like their armor simply didn't exist. Especially at such close range.
Continuing his advance, Leon cleared each room he passed, ensuring nobody would sneak up on him. Three more people who were scrambling for their armor and weapons were found at the door closest to the elevator. Three more bodies. Approaching the elevator, Leon slammed the button, calling the it back down. From the adjacent room, he could hear radios asking what was taking so long.
As the elevator approached, he changed magazines quickly, ensuring he'd be ready for whatever was on the bridge of the ship. Just as he pulled back the charging handle and it flew forward after releasing it, the two sliding doors opened to reveal two more men. This time, they were more prepared, their weapons already up and ready.
Not ready enough, however. Before they could react to the massive figure before them, one of them already had Leon's nanoblade sword shoved into his skull through the bottom of his jaw. The second one turned slightly to shoot, but the his initial shock was all Leon needed to capitalize on the moment, pressing the button to withdraw the nanoblade sword quickly and re-deploying it while it was angled upwards when pressed against the man's side, slicing through the armor, past both intestines, piercing the man's heart and poking a hole through the man's lungs before coming out the other side, a single drop of blood dripping onto the vented metal floor below from the very tip of the blade.
Before the elevator door could close, he withdrew his sword, retracting it once more into the hilt with the press of a button, and entered the elevator. Though the facemask of his helmet was blacked out, if someone could see his face, they'd see a vicious, wolf-like grin on his face.
A live feed of the battle was displayed across every screen on Bierce Gateway, including ones within ships currently docked. The footage had gone live minutes before the Federal forces arrived, and when they did, it was a surprise to almost everyone. Almost.
Then, a separate feed in the corner appeared of a small ship leaving the mailslot at a high speed. One look from Marie told Eri that it was Leon on that ship, making her nervous. Though, Marie didn't seem to be all that worried.
"What is he doing? Is he going to be okay?"
Marie patted the girl's head. "Don't worry. This isn't the first time Leon has fought against Pirates."
However, Eri couldn't help but worry. Leon had become her rock. Her light shining in the dark. If he died..
"Just sit back and watch Leon work, Eri. Worrying won't help anything."
Then, the main screen was overtaken by the feed of the Sidewinder, the cockpit seemingly having been blown out. However, a figure drifted out of the cockpit and stood on the nose of the ship, standing tall and calm. The little Sidewinder began exhibiting signs of FSD activation and Marie couldn't help but chuckle. Eri's attention remained on the screen.
Seconds later, the figure kicked off from the Sidewinder and the ship disappeared in a flash of light. But it didn't go alone, as the entire front of the Corvette it was heading towards was taken with it, getting sucked into the 'witch-space draft', which was always a nightmare, a campfire story of something so incredibly dangerous and terrifying that it had only been heard of in those stories. Until now. Even Marie wasn't expecting that.
"Holy shit."
Onboard the Corvette, the elevator doors on the bridge opened. The Commander of Hydra's forces turned, expecting to see his men ready to report the damage, but instead was met with a view of a giant in combat armor. He opened his mouth to yell, to command the others left on the bridge to shoot at the intruder, but before he could the only two other people in the bridge suddenly had holes in them and were slumped over in their seats.
The two gunshots were so loud in the confined space that he'd gone temporarily deaf. All he could hear was an intense ringing sound. He couldn't hear the intruder's commands. It sounded like he was speaking through a thick door while being under water. He saw the man shrug before bringing a large fist up. Then, darkness enveloped him.
Leon sighed as the Commander dropped onto the floor. Not wasting any more time, he went over to the main communication console and pressed the button to address an open, broad-range voice frequency he was sure everyone in the vicinity would hear.
"This is independent Commander Leon Caelum, addressing all Hydra vessals. I've disabled your flagship, killed your soldiers, and taken your Commander prisoner. You've lost. Surrender or die."
Almost immediately the Hydra forces were sent into disarray. Without a Commander, they were just a bunch of pirates. Well-equipped Pirates, but that was it. No organization. No ability to work together in the event that something like this happen.
That's when Petyr Gabriel made his move. Instead of merely defending, he went on the attack. Swarms of highly-coordinated F63 Condors assaulted the Pirates, making fast hit-and-run attacks that made it impossible to track a single target. The primary defense turrets on the Farragut Battle Cruisers opened up and laid waste to all those who dared to stay in the vicinity, while several small groups of F63s hunted down those who tried to escape. The Gunships, Assault Ships, and Federal Corvettes closed all the other gaps that Hydra otherwise might try to flee to. Very few were smart enough to disengage their hardpoints and await a boarding party.
Back onboard Bierce Gateway, both Eri and Marie cheered.
Almost six hours later, Leon introduced Eri to his former Commanding Officer, choosing to do so within Marie's shop where Leon knew they wouldn't be recorded. The Admiral's men had been instructed to wait outside.
"Eri, this is Petyr Gabriel, Admiral of the Federal Navy and Commander of the 5th Fleet. He's also a friend of mine. Sir, this is Eridani Duval, Imperial Princess."
Eri was nervous to be in the presence of a Federal Admiral, but she was shocked to see him offer her a bow of respect. "Pleasure to meet you, Princess. You have beautiful red hair and eyes. Quite rare for an Imperial."
"Oh! Uh.. Thank you, Admiral."
Leon smiled at the awkwardness she was experiencing. Not many Imperials expected much from Feds. Especially not that. Petyr was right, though. Most Imperials kept away from gene modding, and red eyes were a dead giveaway. Red hair not so much, but Eri's hair was a bit too perfectly colored to be completely natural. Still, he'd arranged for a meeting for a reason and filed that information away for a later date. "Sir, while we have the time I'd like to talk about this mess we just mopped up. For some reason Hydra is after Eri, and while I intend on getting her home safe and sound, apparently Hydra is tracking her via subspace transmitter."
Petyr rubbed his grey, bearded chin thoughtfully. "I can lend you our best doctor to get it extracted, but something about Hydra going after young Eri here doesn't feel right. They're taking an awfully large risk for a single payout."
Beside Leon, Eri started to look uncomfortable. Leon reached over and grabbed something from the counter and handed it to Petyr "This is what seems to be tracking her. No corporate markings, and when I tried jamming the signal, it actually became amplified. This screams of stolen, classified tech to me. Might be worth looking into."
The older man nodded. "I'll send for you two once I get finished up here to get that transmitter out," He paused, grabbing Leon by the forearm. "It was damn good watching you work again, Leon. I missed seeing that kind of passion. If you ever want to come back, you know you always have a home onboard my ship."
Leon simply shook his head. "Sorry, sir. I've started to enjoy the life of an independent Commander. Less politics and red tape stopping me from doing what is right."
This time, Petyr shook his head, a sad smile on his face. "It was downright unfair what Vincent tried to pull. Everyone knows that. Still, I'm glad you're happy. Could we talk outside a bit?"
Leon looked to Eri, who had a nervous look on her face still. He smiled. "I'll be right back."
Stepping outside, Petyr's demeanor changed. He dismissed his guards, instructing them to wait back at the ship. He turned to Leon, a thoughtful frown on his face. Though information control had been established since he first boarded the station, it was best to remain vague. "Leon, this tech isn't just classified," He started, patting the jacket pocket where the tracker was safely stored away from prying eyes. "It's completely black. No records, no traces. The people who do know about it outside of the people who developed it could be counted on two hands until today. I don't know how Hydra got this, but that girl? She's important for some reason. Whatever is going on is bigger than anything you've ever dealt with. Be careful, son."
Leon nodded. He didn't know what exactly Petyr was trying to say without saying, but he got the gist of it. It wasn't just Hydra who was after Eri.
A/N: This chapter is a bit later than it should have been, but there was a scene that didn't quite come together how I wanted it to, so I rewrote it a couple of times until I was content with it. Anyways, we got to see a bit into Leon's backstory with Marie and got to see Leon in action doing some wild, crazy shit. As always, please feel free to write a review, and thank you for reading.
