The Solaris Irregulars
Part 8: War in the Shadows
HPG station Beta
Rio, Rio System
Federated Commonwealth
Cairo inched forwards slowly, the silenced sub-machinegun in his hands an unfamiliar weight. The helmet he wore dated back to the first Star League, and was a masterpiece of lost-tech. It not only contained a night-vision system, but a flash dampener and encrypted com-system too. The fibre-optic camera at the end of his weapon was linked to the HUD in his visor, and allowed him to see around corners.
He looked across the corridor to where Elizabeth Carpenter was crouching. She nodded at him and raised her hand to motion the next team forward. Rebecca, the former Clan Wolf MechWarrior, shuffled past, followed closely by Hawk-that-Settles. Cairo turned round to cover the rear as Akira Takayama and Lenny Rodgers made their way past. A Word of Blake technician made the mistake of choosing this moment to step out of a side room and into the corridor. Cairo pulled the trigger on his SMG and sent a three shot burst into the man's head.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
The near silent sound of his weapon going off was followed by the louder sound of the tech hitting the floor, dead. Cairo held his breath, but no one came to investigate the sound. Cairo raised his hand to hurry the raiding party along.
Two-by-two they made their way along the corridor and down a stairwell to the basement below. Rodgers opened the backpack he was carrying and handed each of the raiding party a block of C4 plastic explosive attached to a remote detonator. As he guarded the doorway, the others placed the charges in pre-determined places, and then regrouped in the stairwell.
Two more Techs' and a Guard had the misfortune of running into the Irregulars as they made their way out of the building, and all three of them died without ever knowing how or why. The raiders slowly made their way out of the HPG, springing between cover to dodge searchlights and cameras. A short burst of static on the radio informed Cairo it was safe to leave the compound, and the raiders met up with the reserve team half a kilometer away.
Cairo activated the timer on the explosive charges, and the two teams double-timed it back to the hidden shuttle. The high-speed Clan shuttle had them quickly away from Rio, and by the time the charges detonated, toppling the HPG transmitter dish and destroying the targeting system, the Irregulars were already on their way back to the Spirit Sight, keeping station at a pirate-point in-system.
TBC