Pirate base

"I'm telling you fool! You need to get everyone off this station now!" Rubi said with growing frustration.

For the last hour she had been arguing with the station head. It was a stretch of belief that anyone could possibly run a station entirely supported by pirates but the man has been on longer than anyone. His men kept the rowdy crews in line and he had enough of them running parts to have legitimate claim of ownership. There were a few people who considered themselves freelancers not supported by the station head but they all paid him to prevent 'accidents' in their areas.

Eventually it was accepted that he 'ran' the station as much as anyone could. He did a fair job of it too. Allowing the more unscrupulous traders to dock at the station with the promise of protection on their routes allowed him to keep the place stocked. Far too often other bases run by pirates would end up abandoned due to the inability to restock or grow food. Stations and bases like those would remain empty for short times before other rogues, pirates, and vagabonds would move in and the cycle would repeat.

This station was once an old asteroid mining base. The rock it was built into had long since been depleted of any useful resources and the surge of pirate action within the area convinced anyone remaining to pack up and leave. With a base that was nothing but tunnels and mine shafts anyone attempting to take it would have a hard time dealing with every last pirate inside. This combined with solid tons of rock protecting the main structure and only a few well guarded docking areas. In the end the base had the greatest protection of all, being wholly not worth anyone's time or effort to clear out just to be occupied by other pirates later.

Being close to the Ferengi border also meant easy access to some of the most lucrative and profitable trade routes. The state of non interaction between the Ferengi and Federation also meant little to no 'do-gooder' patrols this far out of their territory. Occasionally they would even get bounties from both the Breen and the Cardassians against the Federation when they couldn't do the work themselves.

"Rubi just because Ethan bit off more than he could chew doesn't mean that a fleet of merchants is going to take this station. You know just as well as I do even with an army of Nausicaans they couldn't take this place." The man said, "I know you think we're in danger but come on. A fleet, even a mercenary one, isn't going to take this base and you know it."

The room where the two were arguing was fairly spartan compared even to a pirate room. The walls were made of uneven rock and had boxes stacked against it in several areas. Above the front door, which was a simple metal slider door, hung a large screen obviously added recently for communications. The desk was where the two were shouting at each other and made of a simple metal. The chair behind it where the man relaxed was the only thing of real value as it looked to be a much more luxurious version of a captains chair.

"Dammit Lex! I'm not worried about the merchant fleet I'm worried about that damn space station sized ship!" She said, "You've always been fair with us and that is the ONLY reason I'm telling you about this! Once my ships are done packing up our stuff your soon-to-be-occupied station is nothing but wake behind us."

Lex let out a massive sigh and felt himself start to slouch in his chair more. It was comfortable but it often caused him to slouch when he didn't want to. His eyes glanced down at his body and sighed as he looked at his oversized gut which grew over the years. He used to be as fit as any pirate, boarding ships and leading from the front. These days he ran a station and the weight of command was clearly going to his waistline.

He ran a hand over his bald and scarred head before looking back at Rubi, "Rubi I know you and your pirates, you guys aren't stupid and you've done a good job building a rep out there in the stars. But this station ship you're talking about is just crazy." Lex said with another sigh, "This is MY station and if you think they're coming to take it well they're welcome to try! If you're leaving for good then that's too bad but there are other pirates out there besides you."

"Oh for fuck sake!" Rubi said turning around and storming to the door, "Don't blame me when you and your precious station get blown away by this ship when it comes."

She pressed the button near the door and it opened with the sound of squealing metal. Not bothering to wait for his reply she stepped through and let the door close behind her. Walking away she was immediately followed by her first officer who had been waiting for her outside.

"Sounded like it got pretty heated in there." Tella said.

"Damn old fool refuses to listen, how are our preparations?" She asked.

Her second pulled out a data pad and began scrolling through it, "The majority of our possessions have been stored. The rest should be done by the time we get back." She paused before looking at her commander, "We're going to be a pretty big target with all this stuff on our ships. This place has always been a good spot to store our treasure, seems risky to empty it and take our chances going somewhere else. Are you sure that ship is coming here next?" She asked.

"It's coming here." Rubi said with assurance, "This place was originally that Ferengi's target but Ethan ambushed him. If that ship captain has any sense at all he'll strike while the iron is hot."

Enterprise storage holds.

Lionus stood before the squads of men he hand picked for this assignment. He knew about the attack Darrius had planned and also knew that his own security forces wasn't going to be enough to take the base. If it had been anyone else asking he would have rejected them outright. His past with the rogue trader and their own dire straights made him far more amicable to the idea of pooling their resources.

"You men are gathered here today due to your skills. Out of your Cadian brothers those standing before me have shown the most skill and have spent the most time doing station based combat along with special assault maneuvers. This is going to be a capture and hold mission for this asteroid mining base. It is infested with pirates, mercenaries, and other lowlifes that have no sense of discipline, no formal training, and no desire to fight other than to line their own pockets. We are going to go in there and show them just what it's like to face Cadian troopers!" Lionus said to a cheer from all the men gathered, "Each squad commander has gotten a map of the place and locations which he is to secure. You will be working in conjunction with Darrius's men to take key points within the base. Now I've heard rumors of a pool going between you men and the Enterprise security officers over how many people you kill. Let me say right now that if I find out this is true and you idiots have lost the pool I'm going to break every last one of you during the next training regime. Now to your shuttles!"

He watched as the men immediately filed out of the room towards the shuttle bays. Only one squad remained with Tychus standing at the front. The guardsman and the troops behind him stepped forward and stood at attention before the Imperial commander.

Lionus waited for a moment before speaking, "Now Tychus, you and your Kasrkins will be the vanguard force we send in. The ships we got from those pirates in the nebula had shuttles with them that were capable of the faster than light travel these people use. You and your men are going to go ahead with Tyler and Thaddius. Your goal is to get to the command center so you can shut down the majority of the defenses and allow Darrius and myself to get the majority of our troops into the base." Lionus said, "Any objections?" He added as an afterthought.

"Sir, no Sir. I've heard nothing but good things about Mr. Tyler." Tychus said while giving a salute.

"Good, one more thing however." Lionus said making eye contact, "Under no circumstances is Mr. Tyler to be put in danger. He is far too valuable to Darrius and your mission success to get his brains blown out, understand."

"Yes sir! We grunts know who the VIPs are. We'll keep him alive!" Tychus said.

With a nod from Lionus, Tychus signaled his med and the group filed out of the room leaving the commander alone with his thoughts. He was surprised at his attitude towards his men. He had always been amicable to the troops. It made them far more likely to wade into the jaws of hell when they knew their commander believed they could do it. What concerned him was that he asked that they work with Tyler. Imperial commanders never asked.

"This place must be getting to me…" He said to the empty room.

Pirate shuttle a half hour later

Tyler sat in the cockpit as the asteroid base came into view. The space station was the only thing in range for kilometers as much of the asteroid field had been mined away over the years. This meant an easy flight from where they had dropped out of warp. He recalled the plan as they approached the station.

"Fly in, claim to be survivors, kick ass once we get in." He said in a quiet voice.

"Calm down son, you're getting jittery." Tychus said as he moved up to the front from the back.

"Sorry, a lot has happened in the last few days. I think its starting to get to me." He said.

"Eh cheer up kid." The veteran said, "We'll be doing most of the heavy lifting once we get in there, your job is to get those defenses down once we make it into the command center."

"Here we go…" Tyler said as they entered communication range.

He let the crack about being a kid go as he prepared himself for the verbal spar that was about to take place. As the communicator lit up he signaled the station, then again, then again and again after that making his repeat signals sound as urgent as possible. As the comms finally opened up after a dozen more attempts he worked himself up into a frenzy.

"IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU ANSWERED WE NEED TO DOCK IMMEDIATELY!" He said as loudly and franticly as possible.

"Hey slow down man, where's the fire?" The operator asked.

"You don't understand we got away from those merchants who blew up our ship, they're on there way here! I've got to land so we can tell your boss what's coming!" Tyler said almost slipping up and saying commander.

"Alright, alright, calm down. Your shuttle is cleared for bay three. Now shut up and stop bothering me." The comms operator said.

The line went dead shortly after and Tyler looked over at Tychus with a bit of surprise, "That was easier than I thought." He said as the shuttle moved towards the base.

"Pirates tend to be a very lazy lot." Tychus replied.

As the shuttle made it around to the far side of the rock they saw the entrance to the base itself. The asteroid had a large depression in one side where the base had been built. It had hollowed out the interior of the depression and now any ship wanting to land would have to travel directly towards the base from above.

This is what made it so defensible as layers upon layers of guns littered the walls in creating dozens of crisscrossing fields of fire that would shred any ships attempting to dock without permission. The rest of the asteroid was solid enough that any attempt to blast through it would either be a waste of time or result in simply destroying the entire base killing everyone inside. While there were factions that could do that they were few and far between preferring to hire the pirates than waste their time.

The docking bay was a far cry from it's well maintained days back when the asteroid had something worth mining. Several long narrow canals were the only area's that remained clear as the ships used these canals to dock their vessels. The bridges out to the ships were cluttered and full of unclaimed cargo, transformers, and other various items of no value. Even power cords were scattered about and the base had at least one death by electrocution a month. The only way in or out of this area was a door at the top of a stairway that led further into the base.

As the shuttle landed Tychus attached his helmet's face plate and signaled to the rest of his troops to get ready. Tyler was going to be the first out. He had traded his uniform for something a little less conspicuous. The plan was for him to do most of the talking and try to get them at least out of the docking bay.

As to door opened up Tyler stepped out and looked around at the various other ships docked at the port. His eyes were immediately drawn to the rust colored vessels as they loaded up their holds. What caught his eye more was what he could only assume as the captain heading towards her ships. Her red curly hair standing in contrast to the red of the vessels themselves. He was actually somewhat stunned at her sight, her beauty catching him off guard. The last place he expected to see someone like her was a pirate base.

Rubi looked over at the shuttle. She immediately recognized its design as belonging to one of the late Ethan's ships. That set her suspicion to high. What set her off was the man stepping out of the small ship.

"He's clean." She said reaching for her sidearm, "Federation clean." Tella followed suit as she drew her gun.

"TYLER DOWN!" Tychus said running out of the shuttle and shoving the Federation security officer down behind some crates.

Tychus had spent years fighting in wars, spent every waking hour on the battlefield, and seen the eyes of thousands of troops and people who wanted to kill him. He could tell killing intent when he saw it. As Rubi drew her pistol along with her first officer the two of them ducked behind the crates as a withering hail of green lasers were shot over their heads. Adjusting the grip on his hotshot lasgun he lifted it above his head and let loose with a barrage of his own. Blind fire shot across the docking bay forcing Rubi and Tella to duck for cover..

"Hoof it, Kasrkins!" He shouted as he kept the two pirates pinned down.

With practiced ease the rest of the squad dashed out of the shuttle. As they exited they all moved towards locations with cover darting behind crates, pallets, and even into shuttle landing bays. Tyler watched as one of the last ones ran out of the shuttle doors only to get struck in the chest by another green laser shot. He doubled over but managed to roll off to the side behind some boxes two others had already taken cover behind.

"Shit Leroy, you alright?" Tychus said kneeling up from his cover and taking a few aimed shots this time.

"Flack took most of it, burns like a bitch though!" The man grunted.

On the other side of the docking bay Rubi slid out her pistol's power pack and slid in a new one, "Teach me not to make sure my batteries are full." She said moving to the side of the transformer station she and Tella had taken cover behind.

She squeezed off a few more shots before the return fire nearly blew off her head. A lock of her red hair had been singed off and fell to the ground leaving the smell of burning hair behind her. On her other side Tella did the same and managed to score a hit on one of the disembarking men.

By now the firefight was getting chaotic as her own crew had started shooting as well. Rubi knew from looking at the troops on the other side this wasn't going to end well for them even if they did outnumber their attackers. Pulling out a communicator she signaled her crew.

"Lay down cover fire for thirty seconds on my mark then fall back into the ship." She said over the gunfire.

"We're running!?" Tella asked with shock.

"Our ship is loaded up and I don't give two shits about these guys. Yes we're running!" Rubi replied, "Mark!" She cried into the comm.

A surge of fire from her crew forced most of the Kasrkin down behind their cover as the blasts sparked and exploded around them. Pushing herself up from her kneeling position Rubi and Tella bolted for the ship as her crew relentlessly shot beams over the heads of the guardsmen. Rushing in her crewmates quickly darted back inside and the doors to her own ship slid shut. Outside she could hear the impact of dozens of shots on her ship's hull as she signaled her bridge crew.

"Take us up and out, we meet up with our other ships and we're getting out of here." She said as she turned and headed for the bridge.

Tychus signaled for his men to hold fire as the ship opposite their own charged it's engines and began to take off. Just as the ship left the docking bay the door the entrance to the bay opened up and several of the stations security rushed into the room, taking positions at the top of the stairs. As they reached cover the station guards opened fire immediately, their blue energy beams raining down on the Kasrkin.

"So much for subtle!" Tyler said shifting his position behind the crates.

"Then we go for speed." Tychus said pulling out a grenade from his side pouch.

He lobbed the explosive up and over the heads of the station security. Tyler was surprised at how far it went, easily making it to the top of the stairs. From there the grenade hit the wall and bounced off before exploding above the guards killing them in storm of shrapnel. Only smoke and wounded cries were all that was left after the explosion.

The Kasrkin wasted no time as several bolted up the stairs and delivered the finishing shot to any of the guards that had survived. They then took positions by the door as the rest of the squad moved up. One pressed the button and the door slid open. One pirate had been lucky enough to escape the blast by retreating behind the door. His luck ran out as the lead Kasrkin shot him dead before the man could even bring up his phaser.

With the guard dead the rest of the troops began moving in with several watching the other hallways. Two guardsmen opened fire down one of the hallways as more pirates attempted to rush them. Tyler expected to have to rush in but a handsign from Tychus told him to stay put. It became clear as to why as Thaddius moved up the stairs at a leisurely pace.

"M'lord if it wouldn't be too much trouble to hurry we need to get to this places command center. Every second we delay is another second they have to prepare." Tychus said as more shots filled the air.

"Do not tell me the obvious. I am a member of the omnissiah and I will not be hurried by a mere grunt." Thaddius said.

"Then get hurried by me! Move your ass and get with the program you hooded drama queen!" Tyler said.

He had only heard one sentence from the tech priest and was already tired of the man's attitude. He knew he was likely going to regret being short with him later but at the moment he just wanted to get on with the mission. Thaddius however was not going to be spoken to in such a way.

"How dare you! Darrius might find you and your Federation friends agreeable but none of you other than Barclay have come close to proving yourselves to me! I swear by the t-" He never finished as Tyler turned to face Tychus.

"Darrius said to keep me safe right?" He asked ignoring the now fuming Thaddius.

"Yes sir." Tychus replied.

"Did he say anything about him?" He asked pointing a finger at Thaddius who bristled.

"N-No sir." Tychus said trying to cover his fear of the tech priest.

"Then let's go!" Tyler said rushing into the corridor.

"A- SIR WAIT!" The Kasrkin replied.

Tychus rushed after the Federation officer as the troops behind him looked at the Tech priest as all the lights from under his hood glowed from green to a dangerous red. They waited a moment, debating who they feared more, before choosing to run into the hallways with their other companions leaving the tech priest by himself at the top of the stairs.

Inside the hallways the Kasrkin moved with professional efficiency through the dimly lit and dirty corridors. He had seen what he thought was a good boarding action before when he was on the pirate ship but the Kasrkin put the regular guards to shame. Anytime a pirate would appear he'd be shot within a fraction of a second of showing his head. If there was a barrier or fortified area ahead of them they blew past it with grenades, flashbangs, and superior firepower.

"Shouldn't we be more concerned with Thaddius?" Tyler asked.

"No need, if he's following behind it's because he wants to take his time." Tychus said squeezing off a shot at an approaching figure.

The body jerked back and fell to the floor as the group continued to move. Tyler was slightly concerned when he saw that it was a mechanic and he didn't even have a weapon. He realized that if these men boarded a galaxy class ship the amount of civilian losses would make his stomach turn.

"Are… are you scared of him?" Tyler asked.

"Terrified beyond all thought" Tychus said "You'll see why if you're unlucky. I imagine after you told him off like that, he'd want to kill some stragglers to vent steam. I would not want to be them in that situation"

Tyler's stomach did turn this time as he realized that if mechanics were still in the hallway Thaddius would likely do far worse to him than just shoot him. It got even worse when he realized he seemed to be the kind of person who would hold a grudge. He did his best to shrug off the thought of what would happen to anyone behind them and instead focused on getting to the command room.

A signal on his wrist started flashing as they moved through the corridors. Looking at the small watch like device Tyler let out a curse. Tychus looked over at him as the group continued to move.

"We have less than thirty seconds now. The enterprise will be here before we can get those guns down." He said.

"Then we best hurry." Tychus said.

At the rate they moved through the corridors they were going to be arriving at the command room soon. It helped that no major renovations had happened since when the station was used for mining. As they approached the double doors the Kasrkin moved to either side and readied themselves for entering.

Two stood by the door and pulled flashbangs out while a third activated the door and it slid open. Before the door could even finish moving the grenades were tossed in and the Kasrkin looked away as the bang and flash of the explosives blinded everyone inside. It would have, at least, had the room not been designed by someone who knew what it was like defending an area. The door was on a section several feet below the floor with the command consoles. That allowed the pirates not only to have the high ground but plenty of cover to hide behind as the grenades went off.

If the flashbang hadn't gone off they would have all heard the sound of warning sirens go off as a large object dropped out of warp near the station. The group had other issues to deal with. Despite the flashbangs shots were still being fired from the command room at the Kasrkins. Return fire was sporadic at best as the guardsmen knew they had to keep the machine spirits preserved for Tyler and Thaddius. Just as they realized they might have to rush them the tech priest approached them from the hallway.

"What is the delay?" He asked.

"They're still in there sir." Tychus said.

"Then I shall clear out the infestation." The priest replied.

"Sir?" Tychus asked.

He got no reply as Thaddius stepped forwards into the line of fire. At first the shots continued being aimed at the guardsmen near the door but as the priest approached the fire was redirected towards him. Blasts struck his chest, arms, and legs but never slowed down his relentless approach. Eventually one of the pirates smartened up and took a shot at the tech priests face. The laser caused Thaddius' head to snap back before he turned on the guards. One of his many glowing eyes now sparked and flickered from the damage.

For the first time since he stepped on the station his pace was hurried as he rushed forwards. His back shifted as his servo arms burst from under his robes. All three were present this time. The clamp he used to once hold a Federation security officer now reached over and simply plucked a pirate from where he took cover. With the sound of snapping bone and squishing organs he was unceremoniously tossed behind the priest.

The fusion cutter had also appeared from under his robes. It's fuel setting were adjusted beforehand and a gout of flame shot out at one of the other defenders. Enveloped in flame he fell back against the wall howling in pain. As the man died Thaddius continued forwards moving up the steps before him.

The last arm was a simple injector. It darted forwards and stabbing into the last pirate while he was backing away from the horror before him. Injecting the helpless man with whatever had been loaded in before Thaddius came aboard the station. In his case he felt himself die as the oil and lubricant compound flowed through his system wreaking havoc on his body.

The last guard finally saw why his shots had no effect. The tech priest's body was fully exposed before him after he released his arms.. He couldn't see a single inch of human flesh on his body. His shots, that had made it past his plates of armor and carapace, simply damaged wires and gears. As the priest approached him the guard dropped his rifle and backed away a few steps before he hit the computer console.

As Thaddius approached he reached out his wire mesh hands towards the now sobbing man, "The flesh is weak." He whispered as the wires branched out and stabbed themselves into the mans face.

Tychus could only wince as he heard the pirates scream from inside the room, "See what I mean? The lord priest terrifies me." He said looking down at Tyler as he threw up on the floor, "Hope you can work those computers while puking mate."

Tyler's response was drowned out by another gurgled cry of pain from inside the room.