Spanning several light years in size, the Dark Nebula was a vast ocean of stellar dust and gasses that floated in the eternal night of space.
Quite a number of Star League astrophysicists had hypothesized that the Dark Nebula may have been originally a binary star system and that one of the stars went supernova and ultimately shed its outer layers, causing a massive amount of gas and stellar debris. The surviving star's gravitational pull was enough to keep most of the debris within the immediate vicinity and even attracted nearby dust particles to form what is now known as the Dark Nebula.
Theories as to the origins of the nebula never crossed Gudrun's mind. To him, the Dark Nebula was a refuge and a rallying point to the new cause. Star Commander Gudrun had once been a pilot in the Ghost Bear's 14th Battle Cluster. Gudrun was an ardent crusader, a Clan warrior who believed in his own innate superiority over the barbaric Inner-Sphere. As a veteran of many battles, Gudrun had waited and prepared for the eventual resumption of the Ghost Bear offensive towards Terra, humanity's birthplace. When the Khans of the Ghost Bears decided to relocate to the Inner-Sphere and cease further aggression against the Great Houses, Gudrun and a number of like-minded warriors in the Clan raised a howl of protest. If the Ghost Bears were to stop all further offensives, how could they ever hope to become the rulers of the Star League? More importantly, how could he ever gain glory without further battles?
After a few agonizing months of soul searching, Gudrun finally made his decision. He would violate the honor codes of the warrior caste in order to once more taste the pleasures of battle. After all, what use would warriors have if there were no longer any wars with which to fight?
Because of the extreme loyalty towards their leaders, very few Ghost Bear warriors ever challenged the majority decision to cease further hostilities against their neighbors. On the other hand, Gudrun and a few other Bear warriors began to hear rumors among the merchant caste that a new faction was building within the Clans, one that would be a rallying point for all like-minded warriors like him. To be liberated from the constraints of honor so that they would be free to wage war with no rules and no compromises. Gudrun thoroughly investigated his leads and was able to contact the merchant lord Cogliostro. Within a few months, Cogliostro was able to smuggle him and a few other Bear warriors who had had enough of the status quo into Camelot Command.
Gudrun scratched his long forehead as he lay in his bunk. Genetically engineered as an aerospace fighter pilot, Gudrun would have been considered a freak by the ignorant barbarians of the Inner-Sphere. His large goggle-like eyes and small, frail body was genetically engineered to fit into a tiny aerospace fighter cockpit. Gudrun was physically weak in standard one gee gravity but he would become instantly alive once he was operating his Jagatai omni-fighter; it was as if he would only be truly himself when he was strapped onto his seat, dealing death to his enemies.
A sudden lurch came over Gudrun as he noticed that the ship's bulkheads began to vibrate. It could only mean one thing: the Blood Claw had finally detected the overdue merchant jumpship and was accelerating to intercept her.
With an instinct combined with years of experience, Gudrun immediately began to don his flight suit. As the leader of the ship's fighter complement, it was imperative that his unit would be ready to launch at a moment's notice. After putting on a body sock heater that would keep his body temperature warm even in the coldness of space, Gudrun then eased into his fully insulated G-suit.
By the time the warning klaxon sounded, Gudrun was almost at the entrance of the Blood Claw's fighter bay. The normal complement of an Essex-class destroyer would have been a star of ten fighters but due to the fact that Cogliostro's faction was still small, the actual number was only six omni-fighters at this point in time. It didn't really matter though, within the next few months, everyone was convinced that more warriors would flock to their cause once the first phase of Hydra was unleashed.
Lord Cogliostro's plans were simple and direct: expose the Clan's naval assets to the Hydra virus in order to achieve aerospace superiority. Once all Clan naval vessels were under their control, they would deliver the Hydra virus to every planetary command post and military base not under their control or influence. The rest of the Clan civilian population would then be offered a choice, either submit to the new rulers or die in the most horrid way imaginable. Once their power was effectively consolidated, the combined might of the newly united Clans would strike havoc across the Inner-Sphere. Despite the Inner-Sphere's sheer numerical superiority, liberal use of the Hydra virus would wipe out most of their forces as well.
With practiced ease, Gudrun was already past the boarding ladder and was now mechanically plugging and strapping himself into the cockpit of his Jagatai. From torso harness fittings, G-suit lead and neuro-helmet with oxygen and communication plugs, the former Ghost Bear warrior was now fully equipped as he closed the cockpit canopy and began going through his pre-flight checklist. As he began to toggle the activation switch on his fighter's fusion engines, Gudrun noticed that the rest of his star mates were not far behind in their preparations as well.
Gudrun could not help but smile as he waited for the launch signal. His force of six fighters were small but they were all veteran pilots from numerous Clans and they had all been training and doing battle within the Dark Nebula for the past several months. Gudrun and his star mates felt that they knew the advantages as well as the dangers of fighting within the nebula and that if anyone would dare challenge them here, their enemies would be swiftly dispatched with ease. In fact a small scout force of Jade Falcon omni-fighters once tried to penetrate the opaque walls of the nebula hoping that they could get lucky and spot Camelot Command but they were all destroyed in quick succession as Gudrun's fighter star hunted them down one by one within the maze of stellar gasses and dust. The Jade Falcon carrier left the area after several days, never knowing the fate of her scouts. That was several weeks ago and the Falcons had not been back since; they had apparently thought twice before sending in another aerospace reconnaissance force.
The bridge of the Blood Claw was a beehive of activity as her crew waited anxiously for further word from the merchant jumpship Krondorsfire. The last HPG message they had received from the Krondorsfire was nearly a month ago when the captain of the Invader-C class jumpship sent a coded signal to Camelot Command stating that they were fleeing from a Lyran warship in hot pursuit as she made her way towards the Dark Nebula for a supply run. Brunil and Cogliostro had almost given up the Krondorsfire for lost until they had received a new coded message that the merchant vessel was able to give her pursuers the slip and would be rendezvousing with Camelot Command in a few days time.
The Blood Claw's Communications Officer turned her head towards Brunil. "Star Captain, I have just received a priority message from Krondorsfire stating that they are less then 250 kilometers away from our starboard side."
"Is their code authenticated?" Star Captain Brunil asked his subordinate.
"Aff, Star Captain. It is an old password but it checks out."
"Bring us about." Brunil ordered the Blood Claw's helmsman. "Ninety degrees starboard at standard thrust."
"Aff, Star Captain." The Helmsman acknowledged as the ships gravity intensified indicating that the engines were nearly at medium throttle now. A sudden shift to the right also indicated that the warship was turning to starboard as ordered.
Brunil sat back in his Captains chair and relaxed slightly. For the past few weeks he had believed that they might have lost another precious jumpship to their enemies. What a relief it was to know that the Krondorsfire was safe and would be returning with much needed men and supplies. The plans for Hydra were at such a critical phase that the loss of a single jumpship would have thrown off their timetable for months.
After a few minutes the Communications Officer became instantly alert as she listened intently to her earphones. Brunil saw a surprised look on her face and wondered what it was. He was just about to ask what was going on when the Communications Officer turned her head in his direction.
"Star Captain! The Krondorsfire has just reported that she had spotted an Inner-Sphere warship rapidly closing in on her." The Communications Officer exclaimed.
"What? What is our distance to Krondorsfire?" Brunil was aghast. How did an Inner-Sphere warship get so close without being detected?
"150 km and closing, sir." The ship's Navigator answered. Due to the fact that they were in a nebula, visual sighting would occur only at close range.
"Sound red alert. General quarters." Brunil ordered as klaxons began to whine all over the Blood Claw. "Did Krondorsfire identify what type of warship is it?"
"Aff, Star Captain." The Communications Officer answered. "They spotted a Fox class corvette bearing down on them and they are taking evasive maneuvers to avoid it."
A Fox class corvette was trouble indeed. It was one of the newest ships that the Inner-Sphere possessed. Highly maneuverable and well armed for its size, a Fox corvette would give the Blood Claw a serious fight. Their intelligence reports stated that the Lyrans did not have any warships to spare for an operation like this; apparently their network apparatus had failed. But at this point Brunil was prepared to do what it took to safeguard both Krondorsfire and Camelot Command; there was no choice but to engage and destroy the opposing vessel before it could reach the base.
"Maximum thrust. Launch fighters. Get us in between Krondorsfire and that warship. Once the fighters are clear, go to weapons free." Brunil barked out his orders as he strapped himself onto the Captain's chair.
Gudrun immediately noticed a change in the air even though he was strapped inside his fighter cockpit. Klaxons whined as he was ordered to launch immediately. The former Ghost Bear gave a thumbs-up sign to the catapult control technicians as he hunkered down, anticipating a short, high-G sensation.
He was not disappointed. The Blood Claw's magnetic catapults immediately accelerated his Jagatai heavy omni-fighter by five times normal gravity as he was launched out into the swirling gas clouds of the Dark Nebula. Gudrun banked his control stick to port as he tucked in his fighter's tricycle landing gear. He would make a slow orbit around the Blood Claw as he waited for his star mates to form up on his starboard wing. Within a span of less than two minutes, five other omni-fighters had at last formed up behind him.
They were composed of six omni-fighters: a pair of heavy Jagatai, a pair of Turk medium fighters and a pair of Kirghiz heavy assault fighters. They were a motley bunch, having been formed as a hodgepodge from different Clans but they had had extensive training and experience as far as fighting within the Dark Nebula. Orders from flight control had given them a heading to immediately make visual contact with Krondorsfire and then to proceed on to their main target: a Fox-class warship that was pursuing the merchant vessel. Their orders were clear- engage the opposing warship and try to prevent it from destroying the Krondorsfire. All they had to do was delay the enemy ship in time for the Blood Claw to arrive on the scene.
So far not a word was spoken between the fighter pilots. Gudrun was only aware of the measured sound of his own breathing inside his helmet where the oxygen link was feeding his lungs as well as the carrier wave in his helmet earphones. Even in the swirling clouds of the treacherous Dark Nebula, the vacuum of space held no sound. The entire team was so well practiced that each member instinctively knew what to do.
As the lead pilot, Gudrun opened up his throttles and led the unit out towards the merchant vessel. With the fighter's entire fuselage shaking after piercing through a gas cloud, Gudrun kept his eyes glued to the heads-up display. Soon, precious minutes passed as his squadron at last got to within visual range of the Krondorsfire.
Like a giant, unfurled umbrella suspended in the black void of space, the Invader-class jumpship slugged along its vectored path as its small thrusters labored to get it towards the safety of the Blood Claw. Gudrun could see that the vessel carried only two Union-C dropships in her docking rings. Another dropship must have been lost on the way to the nebula, he thought. Gudrun's squadron made a slow pass over the Krondorsfire and assessed any damage before leveling off and then increasing their thrust as they passed her.
Gudrun punched his communications button. "Star Commander Gudrun to Blood Claw. We have attained visual identification of the jumpship. Confirmed positive ID on Krondorsfire. We are now moving to intercept enemy warship."
"Aff, Star Commander." Came the reply even though there was a lot of static and a persistent echo due to the conditions of the nebula. "Blood Claw should be within visual range of Krondorsfire shortly."
"Acknowledged. Beginning interception run now." Gudrun toggled off the comm. switch after his last reply.
Gudrun's squadron then accelerated to maximum thrust as they readied their ordnances. Because of the limited visibility of the Dark Nebula, each omni-fighter was configured for close range combat; Gudrun's Jagatai carried a massive 200mm Ultra-autocannon as well as an extended-range particle projectile cannon on its nose. The other fighters were similarly armed.
As the unit got out of echelon and into a skirmish line that put every fighter abreast of one another, they passed into yet another wall of swirling gas and dust. Fighting within the nebula was akin to ground fighting inside a desert sandstorm, visibility was limited to a few hundred meters and the constant turbulence played havoc with the fighter's targeting systems. Nevertheless, the stakes were high and everyone knew that the penalty of failure was a cold death in the swirling void of emptiness. Gudrun and his star mates pressed on.
Meanwhile the Blood Claw had at last gained visual contact on the Krondorsfire as it pierced the surrounding gas clouds and began a slow pass over the merchant jumpship.
"Instruct the Krondorsfire to immediately head for Camelot Command. We should be able to handle things from here." Brunil ordered from the bridge of the Blood Claw.
"Aff, Star Captain." The Communications Officer replied.
As the Blood Claw passed over the Krondorsfire and due to the fact that all eyes were towards the wall of gas and dust ahead of them where the enemy ship lay, the spotters on the Blood Claw failed to notice that the two Union-C dropships had detached themselves from the Krondorsfire and began a stealthy approach towards the renegade Clan warship.
Several hundred meters away, Gudrun and his star mates had at last made visual contact with the enemy ship. It was clearly a Fox-class corvette, with its distinct, bullet-shaped hull and bristling weapons; the Inner-Sphere warship would be a tough opponent indeed.
As Gudrun and his fighter star accelerated for their attack run, a worrying sign began to manifest itself into his mind. Even though his actions were now dictated by training and experience, Gudrun began to cast doubts about the unfolding battle; it seemed that the enemy corvette had barely moved once it had spotted his fighter star, in fact, it seemed to do nothing more than drift even as Gudrun's fighter star was bearing down on it. Gudrun also wondered as to where were the corvette's fighter screen; surely the Lyrans would have equipped their warship with fighter escorts?
Those very thoughts plagued the back of Gudrun's mind even as his fighter star was only a few hundred meters away. Several of Gudrun's star mates had already fired a few particle cannons at the enemy warship but the former Ghost Bear warrior had decided to restrain from firing his weapons until he got to within point-blank range. They would make as many strafing passes at the corvette until the Blood Claw entered the area.
While explosions rocked the hull of the corvette from the initial barrage of weapons fire, the hairs on the back of Gudrun's neck began to prick up. Even though his fighter star was already within range of the warship's weapon batteries, the Fox corvette had failed to open fire on them. Did they damage the warship so badly that all of its weapons were knocked out?
As they finally dived right towards the forward hull of the enemy ship, Gudrun sensed that there was something seriously wrong with the entire situation. While his star mates began to open fire with short-ranged missiles and their autocannons, Gudrun refrained from firing and instead began to observe the corvette closely. As he peered out of his fighter's cockpit towards the warship, he noticed that the hull of the enemy ship seemed to be more fragile as usual; weapons fire from his unit's omni-fighters would seem to collapse whole sections of the target's hull. A warship of that caliber would surely stand up to the ordinance that a few omni-fighters would unleash on it would it not?
Gudrun let out a shriek as he suddenly realized the awful truth. The former Ghost Bear pilot screamed into his comm. circuit for the others to break away from the attack as the Inner-Sphere warship was transformed into an expanding, white-hot star.
All during his life, Gudrun's most intense fear was that he would die in a meaningless death, one with no glory or remembrance of his memory. As the nuclear shockwave vaporized his Jagatai fighter along with the rest of his star mates, his worst nightmares had came true.
For the next few minutes, a miniature, artificial star briefly illuminated the opaque gas clouds of the Dark Nebula before it burned itself out.
"Thermonuclear explosion detected, my Khan." The Jade Falcon Science Officer stated.
"Have you pinpointed its location?"
"Aff, my Khan. It is on grid 7-G in the inner part of the nebula."
"Proceed." The supreme leader of the Jade Falcon Clan ordered.
Brunil shuddered in his chair as the Blood Claw's view ports were suddenly awash in an incandescent bright light which bathed the bridge in an eerie, whitish glow before the reactive tint on the plexi-glass immediately compensated. A split second later, a minor shockwave reverberated across the warship's bulkheads, startling the already shocked bridge crew.
Brunil immediately turned his head to face the ship's Science Officer. "What was that? What happened?"
"Scanning now, Star Captain." The Science Officer began to check the ship's sensor readings.
"It looked like a thermonuclear explosion." Brunil exclaimed.
"Aff, Star Captain. We have just endured the after-effects of a nuclear shockwave." The Science Officer explained.
Brunil turned to the ship's Communications Officer. "Get me in touch with Star Commander Gudrun."
"Neg, Star Captain. I am unable to communicate with Star Commander Gudrun." The Communications Officer answered sadly. "I am not getting any transponder signals from any of our fighters."
Brunil leaned back into his chair, shocked. "What?"
As the bridge crew of the Blood Claw began to face up to a horrifying reality that their fighter complement was just wiped out by a nuclear explosion, they remained unaware of Krondorsfire's two Union-C dropships that had by now positioned themselves on the port flank of the warship's hull.
Captain Natasha Kerensky spoke into her space suit's comm. link. "Wolf Spiders; deploy."
A split second later the first dropship's drop tubes opened and a lance of four jump-capable battlemechs were released. Using their jump jets, the all-black battlemechs began a rapid approach towards the Blood Claw's port hull.
Stilicho Jones grimaced as he made minute adjustments on the controls of his Pillager battlemech as he began to make a controlled descent on top of the warship's outer hull. Mechs were not designed to maneuver in space and so Stilicho struggled mightily to keep his mech's approach as smooth as possible. In the zero-gravity environment of cold space, the dangers that him and the rest of his lance faced were extreme; even a slight error in his piloting would have either made his battlemech too fast, thereby smashing into the warship's hull like a bullet impacting a brick wall or quite possibly missing the hull altogether, thereby flying off into the void to be lost forever.
"Fire harpoons." Natasha spoke into her comm. link again.
Within seconds of the Black Widow's order, specially modified turrets on both dropships fired harpoons that trailed several hundred meters of industrial strength cables towards the hull of the Blood Claw. The harpoon heads were in fact magnetic clamps that held fast onto the warship's hull upon impact. Once the cables were in place, the dropships began to reel themselves in closer until they were just a few dozen meters away from the surface of the Blood Claw.
Even in optimal planetary conditions a jump-jet equipped battlemech still had the maneuverability of a brick but Lieutenant Jimmy Clavell and his team handled the descent brilliantly, each battlemech landed with a loud metallic clang that reverberated across the inside of the Blood Claw's hull. As the Wolf Spider lance of the Black Widows began to spread out on top of the hull using specially modified magnetic footpads, the outer doors of the closest dropship began to open.
"Platoons one to three, EVA.I repeat, EVA." The Black Widow ordered.
With practiced precision, the black, battle armored commandos of the SLDF's 22nd Special Air Service Regiment began to rappel towards the renegade Clan warship by using the industrial cables from the modified dropship turrets. In a scant few seconds, battle armored soldiers were now on the outer hull of the Blood Claw.
Just as Brunil ordered the Blood Claw to turn around and head back to Camelot Command, the entire bridge crew was startled by several loud metallic clangs which reverberated all over the ship. The noises were so loud that almost everyone had thought that it was another shockwave that hit them. Brunil and a few of the more experienced crew thought otherwise, they realized that something had occurred on the outer hull.
"Get me visual on our port side!" Brunil ordered the startled crew.
As the live video of battlemechs and battle armored soldiers began to flood the view screens of the bridge, several exasperated crew members let out cries of shock. It was clear that they were being invaded.
"All available weapons, open fire and destroy those dropships!" Brunil shouted at the top of his lungs.
As several laser and autocannon turrets began to traverse their mountings to aim at the attached dropships, they were rapidly engaged by combined fire from the Wolf Spider lance.
"Spread out, you idiots." Clavell ordered his lance mates as he poured a volley of gauss slugs and missiles from his Mad Cat Mk II into a nearby naval laser turret.
"Did he just call us idiots?" Stilicho asked as he fired his mech's dual gauss cannons towards another turret.
"He sure did, partner." Johnny Gundam replied nonchalantly as his Axman tore off the outer casing of a Barracuda missile launcher using its hatchet.
"Now that wasn't very nice." Stilicho pouted as he waited for his gauss cannons to cycle back their spent energy.
"Pipe down you two! Get to work!" Clavell snapped back as his mech began walking towards another set of turrets.
As the Wolf Spiders kept shooting at every turret that tried to face the dropships, the battle-armored commandos of the SAS converged towards the outer doors of the Blood Claw's cargo bay. Within a few seconds they began to lay shaped explosive charges across its perimeter.
As they finished laying the last of the explosive charges a sergeant spoke into his suit's comm. link. "Charges are set."
"Execute." The Black Widow replied.
A massive explosion ripped through the side of the Blood Claw's hull, reverberating across the inner bulkheads. Pieces of the ship's sundered cargo door began to float outwards into the vacuum of space as the SAS commandos began to venture through the ruptured opening.
"We have a breach. Moving in now." The Monk spoke through his battlesuit's comm. link as he climbed into the exposed cargo bay along with several commando squads.
"I'm on my way." Natasha signaled her team as she began to rappel along one of the attached cables. As the Black Widow began her descent towards the hull of the warship, several others wearing space suits began to follow her down.
Brunil unstrapped himself from his captain's chair as pandemonium raged in the Blood Claw's bridge. Several crewmembers were in a daze while others began to ready their own personal weapons. Some didn't know it yet but it would be a fight to the death; no quarter was asked and none would be given.
As he checked his laser pistol, Brunil happened to glance over at his Communications Officer. The young girl just stood there, tears welling down her freckled cheeks. Brunil remembered her being a bright, cheerful trainee who was so eager to learn the intricacies of operating a warship just a few months ago. As the former Smoke Jaguar looked around, seeing the mixture of confusion, anger and fear, he realized that he had failed his crew and his cause.
It was all so brilliant. The Krondorsfire was nothing more than a Trojan horse full of enemy soldiers. And Brunil played right into their hands. A part of him marveled at the audacity in the planning of this type of operation. Clearly he was up against a most deadly adversary.
Brunil strode over to the Communications Officer and touched her lightly on the shoulder. "I am heading for engineering. You are to take command of the bridge."
The girl merely nodded.
Brunil's throat was chocked with emotion but he went on anyway. "You must hold for as long as possible. Do you understand that?"
"Aff, Star Captain." Came the solemn reply.
"Very well, good luck." Brunil strode towards the exit but he turned around and looked at her for one last time. "I-I never even knew your name."
The young lady stood at attention to signify a final show of respect. "Communications Officer Drusilla, Captain."
"Goodbye, Drusilla."
"Farewell Captain, may you be remembered. Dosvedanya." Drusilla whispered as her Captain left the bridge.
It was just a matter of time and both sides knew it. Although the crew of the Blood Claw outnumbered their attackers, the battle armor equipped commandos would win out in the end. The ship's crew had no Elemental troopers on board; they hadn't expected to be boarded and all that they were equipped with were their side arms. But laser pistols and guns would have little effect against a trooper wearing powered armor.
As Natasha made it into the cargo bay, she could see that the SAS commandos had already secured it. Several troopers kept watch at the adjoining corridors while others began planting small chargers to blast through several sealed airlocks.
The Monk bounded over to Natasha in his battle suit. "We're ready for phase two."
"Okay, listen up." Natasha addressed several combat engineers and SAS squad leaders that were beside her. "First platoon, head for the bridge; second platoon we are going for engineering. Let's go people!"
Just as Brunil made it to the engine room of the Blood Claw, he heard several loud explosions down the corridor. It wouldn't be long now. Brunil hoped that he would have at least have some time to do one last thing, he needed to ensure that whatever happened, the enemy would not gain access to the ship's navigation computer for it held information as to the exact location of Camelot Command. Although he knew that the ship was lost, Cogliostro would still have a chance.
"Seal the doors and hold them for as long as possible!" Brunil ordered the shaky engineering crew.
One of the engineers spoke out; he was a young, sandy haired man. "We should surrender, Star Captain."
Brunil drew his laser pistol and shot the man in the face before turning to the others. "Hold this room for as long as possible, quiaff?"
The remaining crewmembers acknowledged.
As Brunil ran over to the main engineering control panel, he heard several loud clangs emanating from outside of the doors as his subordinates took cover. The Captain of the Blood Claw kept concentrating as he began to override the failsafe controls of the warship's fusion reactor. The moment he sabotaged one safety protocol, Brunil immediately closed the access codes for it as well, thereby preventing his enemies from undoing what he had done. Just as he overrode eight protocols after maximizing the output of the reactor, a loud explosion ripped through the doors.
The shockwave threw Brunil back about a few meters and he landed on his back. As he got up and returned to the control panel, his men were firing at the armored troopers that were pouring through the breach. One armored commando staggered and fell from multiple laser and gyrojet shots but two others took its place, spraying the defenders with pulse lasers as well. In zero gravity situations, the laser was the most ideal weapon due to the fact that it had no recoil that could throw the shooter off-balance and lessen his accuracy. The SAS commandos had trained for this type of close-quarter battle and they were using their learned skills to deadly effect as one crewman after another began to fall.
Brunil paid no mind to the battle as he concentrated on overloading the reactor. Just as he typed in his final command to override the last failsafe protocol and was preparing to press the enter key, a heavily padded glove took hold of his wrist.
The Captain of the Blood Claw turned and came face to face with the visored helmet of the Black Widow.
As Brunil tried to press the enter key with his other hand, a kick from Natasha sent him flying back into a nearby bulkhead. As Natasha tried to close in on him, her heavy space suit slowed her down and gave Brunil time to draw his laser pistol from his hip holster and he was able to get a shot off.
The red laser beam impacted on Natasha's left torso. Pieces of Nomex and insulation broke up and swirled in the zero gravity as most of the laser's impact was absorbed by her space suit. Nevertheless, Natasha experienced a scorching pain on her left thigh as she went down and began to drift into unconsciousness.
Brunil quickly began to make his way towards the main control panel once again but just as he stepped over the prone form of the Black Widow, Natasha's hand flew out and caught his left ankle. The pull was so sudden that Brunil accidentally let go of his laser pistol as his forward inertia was suddenly stopped. The laser pistol began to float across the room.
With a last, desperate surge of adrenaline, Brunil drove his right foot into Natasha's helmet. The impact of the kick cracked the helmet's visor and stunned the Black Widow. As Brunil wriggled free of her grasp and drove his finger towards the keyboard panel, a laser shot hit the warship Captain in his chest. The laser bored a hole through his heart and Captain Brunil died just as he was about to partially redeem his honor.
As Natasha willed her way back to consciousness she noticed Ethan Lafitte standing over her, an Intek laser rifle in his arms. The crusty old technician helped the Black Widow up on her feet.
"That was one hell of a pounding you took. You okay?" Ethan asked.
"I'll live. Give me a sitrep." Natasha replied groggily.
"Well, looks like we have just secured engineering. The Monk reported that the bridge was secured just a little over a minute ago. We are still getting resistance from other parts of the ship but we pretty much control the important sections." Ethan explained.
"Okay, looks like our Trojan horse gambit was a success. What are the casualty figures?"
"Six dead, another eight wounded. Quite a few of the enemy had gyrojet rifles and we took a few casualties from massed small arms fire."
"Okay then." Natasha bit her lip then pointed towards the engineering controls. "Can you check out this control panel? It seems that this Captain was fiddling with it."
Ethan looked over and checked out a few readings. "Uh-oh. It seems that almost every failsafe protocol has been disabled and the reactor has been ordered to overload."
"Can you shut it down?" The Black Widow asked.
"Seems our friend here placed password blocks on his command parameters. It would take me hours to crack the codes. He was just about to detonate the engines when you stopped him but even with the single failsafe protocol in place, it's only a matter of time before this ship blows sky high." Ethan answered.
"How much time?"
"About thirty minutes at the most." Ethan sighed.
"Can we still maintain close to maximum thrust?"
Ethan was puzzled at the question but he sensed that Natasha had a plan. "We sure can. It may bleed some of the excess power off but an overload is still inevitable. What have you got in mind?"
"Evacuate all nonessential personnel back to the dropships. I'm going to the bridge." Natasha gave Ethan that wily smile she always had when a new, diabolical idea entered her mind.
Cogliostro paced impatiently back and forth in Camelot Command's Communications Center. The Merchant Lord was deeply worried. Just over an hour ago the Blood Claw had reported that she had sighted the missing merchant jumpship and was moving to intercept her and then escort her back to the naval base. Since then, Brunil's ship had remained silent. Did something happen?
Just as Cogliostro was about to order one of his precious dropships to lift off and go in search of the Blood Claw, a Communications Officer began to plot several signals on his computer screen.
"Well, what is it?" Cogliostro asked.
"My Lord, I am getting a signal. From my sensor readings I believe it is the Blood Claw."
Cogliostro sighed with relief. "Good. Ask them what is the situation with the merchant vessel."
The Comm. Officer spoke into his microphone and then looked up, puzzled. "I am getting no reply."
"What?" Cogliostro was dumfounded.
"My Lord! The Blood Claw has accelerated to maximum thrust, heading directly for us." Exclaimed a sensor operator.
"But that's impossible! Brunil would nev-" Cogliostro blurted just as a loud echo boomed on the speakers of the Comm. Center.
"Lord Cogliostro I presume?" A sly, female voice was heard over the speakers.
"Who is this?" Demanded Cogliostro.
"My name is Captain Natasha Kerensky of the Black Widows and this will be the last words you are ever gonna hear- don't mess with the Star League." The voice boomed across the room.
"What is going on?" Screamed Cogliostro as panic began to grip everyone in the room.
"Okay, let her go." Natasha ordered as the dropships disengaged their connecting cables and steered away from the rapidly accelerating warship.
The Blood Claw attained maximum thrust for a few minutes as its nose plowed into the steel docking rings of Camelot Command. At the same time, its reactor had at last overloaded and exploded outwards just as the bulk of the ship penetrated into the concrete casing of the naval base. The resulting shockwave gutted the core of Camelot Command, which also set off a chain reaction in its own fusion reactor core that precipitated a meltdown.
Looking from the view port of the orbiting dropship, the Black Widow could see multiple explosions as fires ripped through the ancient naval base. Stored ordinances also detonated, adding even more havoc to the already doomed inhabitants. It would just be a matter of time till the fires and explosions would render the entire base uninhabitable.
Natasha remembered something that she had learned from her childhood instructor- every problem is its own solution.
"That should take care of the renegade Clan faction." Ethan said as a matter of fact.
"Yes it should." Natasha sighed. "The resulting devastation will also destroy Camelot Command's viability as a strategic naval base for anybody in this area."
"All's well that ends-" Ethan's quote was cut short as a massive, looming shape filled the view ports of the dropship's bridge.
Carrying an entire galaxy of Clan warriors in its hangar bays and attached dropships, the colossal, cigar-shaped warship partially blocked the crimson rays from the dying red dwarf star as it approached. It was a Nightlord-class battleship. Painted in the emerald green colors of the Jade Falcons, the Nightlord was the pinnacle of Clan warship design and it could easily destroy the two tiny dropships as it slowly passed over them.
An old but powerful female voice boomed over the carrier wave of the dropship's speakers. "Who dares defy the will of the Jade Falcon?"
Natasha took the microphone and activated it. "This is Captain Natasha Kerensky. Identify yourself."
"Ah- so the rumors are indeed true. It seems that reports of your death has been exaggerated, Captain." The female voice laughed. "I am Khan Marthe Pryde of the battleship Emerald Tower."
"Khan Pryde, it is an honor to finally speak to the supreme leader of the Jade Falcon Clan." Natasha smiled. "What brings you to Camelot Command?"
"We detected a thermonuclear explosion not far from here. All we had to do was to follow our sensor readings once we had pinpointed the source of the blast. And what a surprise we have found, it seems that you have not only wiped out these chalcas renegades but it is apparent that you have destroyed Camelot Command as well." Khan Pryde explained.
"Yes, quite so. Would you mind if we leave now?"
"I am afraid I do mind. You are in Jade Falcon territory and I offer you honorable surrender. If you try to resist us Captain Kerensky, you will surely be destroyed." Khan Pryde retorted with apparent relish.
"If I beg to differ Khan Pryde, Camelot Command is not in Jade Falcon territory. I recall that Snord's Irregulars has beaten your forces twice in your attempts to take it. Since Camelot Command has been destroyed then I guess this qualifies as neutral territory don't you think?" Natasha objected.
"Say whatever you wish, barbarian dog!" Khan Pryde snapped. "You are in no position to bargain! Surrender now and I promise that you shall live as my personal bondsman. I claim possession over you and your men."
"Then I invoke a trial of refusal, Khan Pryde." Natasha threw down the gauntlet. "Since you Falcons regard yourselves as paragons of Clan honor, I challenge you to single combat. If you regard honor as the highest virtue that a warrior can have, then surely you must accept."
Khan Marthe Pryde leaned back in her chair on the bridge of the Emerald Tower. This so-called Black Widow was invoking Clan law as a gamble to try and save her tiny force from being taken prisoner. Since the Jade Falcons regarded mercenaries as lacking in honor, she could have easily made an excuse not to follow protocol and destroy them with ease.
But another thought entered the Jade Falcon leader's mind. Khan Pryde knew that she needed to prove that the Falcons could win in any fight, even a fair one. And at the same time, she also was prepared for this eventuality. Whatever the case, the Jade Falcons had the advantage.
"Very well, I accept your proposal for single combat. It shall be held in the ruins of Camelot Command. I shall choose one champion from my warriors to face you. What are your terms?" Kahn Pryde asked.
"If I am victorious, then you will grant me and my men safe passage out of the Dark Nebula and back into Lyran space. If I fail, then my men will surrender as bondsmen." Natasha replied.
"Bargained well and done, Captain Kerensky. May this decision result in your honorable death and a place in our Remembrance." Khan Pryde smirked as she concluded the bargaining.
"We shall see. Over and out." Natasha answered before she cut off the link.
Khan Marthe Pryde turned to her advisor, Ixtil. "Where is Star Colonel Joanna?"
"With the rest of her unit, my Khan." Ixtil answered. "She is in the hangar bay, awaiting orders."
"Good. Tell her to prepare for individual combat." Khan Pryde ordered. What better than the killer of the Black Widow with which to fight this abomination with.