Author's Notes: Hey everyone, I hope that you are enjoying the story. As always all original material is owned by GW and FFG.
Harken sat on his command throne staring out through the viewport, though he knew that what he would see had not changed since they had broken from the asteroid field. In front all there was to see were stars and the engines of those of his fellow pirates whose ships were ahead of his. Were he to look to the port or starboard viewports and all that he would see would be more of the same. He found his finger tapping on the armrest and he forced himself to stop. The last thing that the crew needed was for them to see their captain; they all were already, they did not need for him to make it worse. He forced himself to take a deep breath and mentally cursed the enterprise that they were on. Oh, the Admiral had not lied, the wealth that they would make on this raid was indeed astronomical, but now that Harken was back on his ship in the dark void, he had time to think about what they were doing and the enormity of it and the consequences sank in.
This was the Tithe Fleet that they were attacking for Throne's-sake! Even if it was true that there were no warships escorting it there was bound to be a small army of guards abord; possibly even Arbites! Should they succeed, what would happen then? Harken knew all too well what happen. The Imperium would send a whole fleet after them, that was what! He had sent Alia into the base to learn what she could of their new comrades. One of the things that he had learned was that, for all the Admiral's boasting, the Raiders were, for the most part, small-time raiders, not worth the Navy's attention. This would change that. The other things that she had learned had done little to comfort him. He had instructed her to learn what she could about those who had sat at the Admiral's table, for it was clear that they were the most influential people after the Admiral and thus those who controlled his fate until he gained power of his own. What she had learned was not very comforting.
Sarina, it was said in the various drinking holes and gambling dens, hailed from a feral world until she and a number of her people had been rounded up to meet the world's tithe. According to the story she and part of her regiment had been aboard the Light of Truth, the Firestorm-class frigate which would become the Render.For some reason she led a mutiny and for a wonder she had succeeded and seized the ship. If what Alia had learned was true the coat Sarina wore had belonged to her regiment's commissar and the bloody hole was where she had knifed the man. Whether this story was true or not, her actions since were well-known.
Her ship was always the first into battle and she had a great love of boarding actions. She always led these attacks and seemed to revel in bloodshed, a trait shared by the majority of her crew. Strangely it appeared that her bloodlust was not mindless, as one might expect. From what Alia had learned Sarina made it a point to always seek out the strongest and best fighters among the enemy, leaving the rest for her crew. She reportedly would even simply walk pass lesser foes to reach the ones she wanted to fight.
Otho's story was much better known. His family had been the rulers of Arna V, with Otho holding the position in the Planetary Defense Fleet of captain of the Avenger, a Claymore-class corvette. He had been in-line for the governorship, when a rival noble family had staged a coup. Otho had managed to escape with a number of loyalists and had thrown in his lot with the Admiral. He had claimed that he was merely doing so to gain the resources he needed to return home and reclaim his title. Of late; however, he had spoken less of this and had seemed to be falling into a depressed state. The opinion of many was that Otho was coming to the realization that that was never going to happen and that he was now nothing more than a thief and murderer, no better than those whom he had once fought against and looked down on.
Finally, there was Damas, captain of the Glory, an Infidel-class raider. No one knew his history or where he had come from, he merely appeared. While little was known, there were many rumors, most centered around the asteroid that he had made into his private base. He was known for taking captives on the raids and while some ended up in the whorehouses on the main asteroid, many of which he apparently owned by him, many of them were never seen again. Only two other things were known for sure about him; that he and Sarina hated one another and many were looking forward to the time they came to blows. Sarina was a vicious killer, but despite his appearance Damas was apparently a very formidable swordsman and had killed more than one who mistook his appearance for weakness. The other thing which was known was his ambition.
It was widely believed that he had his eyes on the Admiral's position. He had frequently and publicly decried the Admiral as being overly cautious and lacking in the drive and ambition needed to be anything more than a glorified cutpurse. Damas had apparently advocated that should leave their base and make their way to something called the Maelstrom and ally themselves with a pirate lord named Lufgt Huron. Apparently Huron was a renege Space Marine and had access to skilled men, ships and weapons which would make the Raiders far more formidable; thus enabling them to plunder richer targets. So far the Admiral had been against the idea, not wanting to subjugate himself to the authority of another and Damas did not have the support to challenge the Admiral for leadership, though that was changing. The lack of profitable raids had lowered the Admiral's standing and more and more captains appeared to be coming over to Damas's way of thing, at least so it seemed from what Alia had heard.
That was why this raid had to be successful, if it failed then it seemed that Damas would be able to move against the Admiral and the Raiders could find themselves plunged into infighting; or those who opposed Damas, primarily Sarina, killed and their ships taken. Harken took a deep breath, held it for a moment and then released it. While disturbing, that was a problem for later, he had enough to concern himself with right now. This was his first raid and he knew that, in addition to his own inexperience, he knew that his ship was far from the most formidable ship in the fleet and neither was his crew.
To increase his numbers for the raid he had taken on extra crew, hired from among those on the station. Unfortunately; his newness, his ship and the fact that many preferred to sail with more established captains meant that, for the most part, those who remained were far from being the cream of the crop. Nevertheless, some of them were still superior to those whom Harken had on his crew and he could not afford to be choosy. There was also the fact that everyone that he hired meant one more that his share of profits would have to be divided with. Not that was going to be too great a problem if things went as he anticipated he thought sourly.
After they had set out he had been informed of the exact details of his part in the coming raid. Once the escorts were dealt with Harken and the other lightly armed ships would move in and dispatch the shuttles, all of which had been equipped with docking claps and cutting rigs. They would attach to the ships and cut their way into the transports. Once inside they would overcome the crews. This done, the pirates would either sail the ships to where they could be plundered at ease; or, if that was not practical, take as much of the cargo as possible and then make a run for it. This left Harken with another problem to consider. It had been made clear to him that he would have to lead the boarders himself, to do otherwise would be seen as a sign of weakness. That being the case; who was he going to leave in charge of the ship?
There were few enough people aboard who knew much about ship operating as it was and he was not sure how much he trusted them. While the Prosperity was not the greatest of ships, might still be accepted by a more well-known captain in exchange for taking them in. So, who among the crew did he trust enough to leave in command of his ship while he was leading the boarders? For a moment he considered Kristofer and then mentally shook his head. No, the former PDF trooper was one of Harken's best fighters and he wanted him with him during the boarding action. Additionally, Harken simply did not trust Kristofer with command of the ship. He could all too easily imagine the man leaving him if anything were to go wrong; whereas if he were with Harken he would have no choice but to fight or die. After considering all of this he had only one viable option. Alia.
While she did not know anything about the running of the ship, that was actually to Harken's advantage. Lack of familiarity would, hopefully, make her less inclined to take initiative. This, plus her gratitude for her rescue and the knowledge of what many of the other captains were like, would convince her that it was in her best interest to remain loyal to him rather than taking her chances with them. Having made his decision, he summoned her to the bridge, though he did not inform her of his plans. As he waited for her arrival, a cry was raised by the man, Wilark if Harken remembered correctly, manning the ship's auger array.
"Captain! The target fleet is on screen and is moving towards us!" Harken nodded.
"Numbers?"
"I am reading fourteen ships, Captain." Harken frowned at that.
The Admiral had said that the Tithe Fleet was six transports. That meant that the rest had to be escorts. They would likely be Planetary Defense Fleet ships, but it was more than he thought that there would be.
"What can you see about the other ships?" Alia, who had just come onto the bridge asked. The man looked at Harken, who nodded in assent. Permission granted, Wilark answered Alia.
"Six of them are patrol cutters, nothing overly formidable. The other two…" His voice trailed off as he looked more closely at the readings. As he did so, his face went pale and he whirled back to Harken.
"Captain! The other two are Punisher-class Adeptus Arbite Strike Cruisers!"
Author's Notes: Well, things just got interesting, didn't they? I hope that you enjoyed it, consider it a Christmas present and I will try to make the next one longer. Till then, stay safe, have a Merry Christmas and may Jesus bless you.