Chapter 4 : Into the deep unknown.
The bellowing engines got even louder. The tower gantries fell away, and the shuttle rose into the sky, looking less like a bloated humpback whale and more like an orca hunting prey. Of course, due to the extreme engine noise and g-forces, the crew didn't know that, or indeed even care; they felt like they were being pulped inside an metal barrel which was being relentlessly pounded with jackhammers; they just wanted the noise to stop and their stomachs to settle. A few minutes later, the corporal called out over the interphone and ground comm "BECO" (Booster Engine Cut Off) as the solid-fuel boosters separated from the huge tank beneath them. Another few minutes later the corporal announced "OK, Harrigan. Time for the first OMS burn. Just a slow barrel roll". Harrigan rolled the shuttle slowly through a complet circle. The corporal reported to DK "First OMS burn successful and on time".
A few more minutes passed, and the tank itself fell away. The corporal reported this to ground control, where DK said they were all in the green still. Shortly afterwards, the outer skin started to glow. "What's that all about?" asked the corporal. "We're passing through the outer atmosphere into space" Harrigan replied "That glow is just friction on the shuttle skin. Don't worry – it'll take it". Shortly afterwards the pressure eased as Harrigan pulled the throttles back from escape velocity. He thumbed the comm and reported "Ground control, this is your pilot reporting. I am happy to report we have achieved orbit and are all still alive" A chorus of happy laughs could be heard faintly from Harrigan's headphones. A loud heaving sound came from the corporal's direction. Harrigan turned to find out what happened. When he turned back, he added to the ground report "I am not so happy to report that the corporals' dinner has achieved escape velocity as well, separating from it's owner and swallower at approximately" Harrigan quickly looked at the wall clock "2230 hours. We could have done without projectile vomit in the cockpit, though. Note for his file : fined $50 for vomiting in orbit, suspended if he gets out of his seat now and cleans it up without throwing up again. Second OMS burn now." Harrrigan pulled another slow barrel roll "No known defects. Over to you, DK".
Before DK could start, however, General Franklin took over. "I'll just say a few things before you continue with your mission. First to Mary. Your government has been notified of your presence on board, and says the hope and prayers of the nation go out for you – even though they didn't know about the mission beforehand. I suppose they could use some favourable publicity" Harrigan looked over at Mary, who was actually crying with happiness. "I shouldn't, I know" Mary sniffed "But that's the first time my superiors have said that, even if they don't mean it". General Franklin continued with "To your corporal. Corp, your old L-T sends 'Go to it, and good luck'. Your girlfriend tried to send a whole bunch of stuff , mostly related to a whole bunch of crackpot military/UFO conspiracy theories; but she sends her love as well". "Just keep her away from the National Enquirer and Sunday Sport and you'll get something coherent and sane out of her" the corporal replied. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Now you, Lieutenant" the General carried on "Never has one officer, even your Captain, caused so much havoc on my base during his tenure here. But you've been the best way of keeping the MP's and grunts on their toes there's ever been, and it's been a pleasure serving with you, though frequently very trying". A stunned Harrigan replied "Thank you sir!". General Franklin finished with "Now go and cause havoc and raise hell in places that haven't seen humans before!" and passed control back to DK.
"This bit's going to be tricky" DK stated "You will need to follow my instructions exactly. We'll be duplicating the initial Farscape experiment as closely as possible. One major thing. Later, if things go as planned, some kind of electromagnetic wave/tunnel/pipe thing will appear. We probably won't have clear comms then; we didn't with Commander Crichton either. GO INTO THE PIPE. Yes, all the way in. From then on, it's highly unlikely we'll be able to get you back at all. If you wish to return, it's totally up to you to find a way". Harrigan, Mary, and the corporal looked at each other, shrugged, and turned back to their instruments. "Harrigan, you'll need to dive into, and skim the top of, the atmosphere until I say. Then pull out. Now!".
Harrigan pushed the throttles forward and dove towards Earth. He pulled level just as the hull started to glow. The controls weren't too stable, which Harrigan reported. "Just spatial turbulence. More pronounced with you; the original module fit in your cargo hold – the shuttle's much bigger". "Ohhh, shhhiiiiiittttt!" moaned the corporal, and promptly vomited the last remains of his dinner into his helmet. "Stash that thing where it won't float loose!" yelled Mary, and the corporal complied queasily.
"How much longer, DK?" asked Mary. "Three minutes from my mark. Mark!" replied DK. "I copy" stated Harrigan. "Two minutes..." came and passed. "One minute..." disappeared into the ether. "OK, ears open people!" yelled DK "30 seconds...20 seconds...10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...Now! Pull up!". Harrigan hauled backed the control stick with all his strength. Shortly the shuttle slipped free and shot off into space. Soon there appeared, as described, a strange bluish phenomena directly ahead. Mary tried to get through to Earth – nothing but static.
Back in ground control, DK sat back. "There we go. Our part ends here" DK stated. "We'll continue to keep our eyes and ears on the comm for any trace of Harrigan's crew, but we have no more influence from here on in". General Franklin stepped in "Captain, you'll have to return to SOAW HQ with your squad. I'm sorry, but it's just too hot for you here now. I've got three C-130s on hand to fly your squad, your equipment, and you household effects back to Nellis. They've been notified of your arrival and quarters are waiting for you". They all shook hands, and went their separate ways. Captain Lazarus had a whole squad to move – this would take all week.
In the shuttle, Harrigan aimed the shuttle dead centre for the entrance to this strange thing. Soon, they were all the way inside the pipe. "No turning back now, eh?" said the corporal. "Indeed no" replied Mary, as Harrigan was too busy threading their way through the pipe. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "But even if we could return, would you really want to? We'll be the first to see a bunch of strange new places, meet strange new creatures, and kill them in strange new ways". "Only if they stop us getting to Commander Crichton"ordered Harrigan from the pilot's chair "This is primarily a retrieval mission – not an assault mission. That's all". Mary moved over to the copilot's chair – her comm gear was useless right now, so she figured she might as well get a good view. "How are things going enginewise, corporal?" Mary asked. "Borderline, but within safe tolerances, people" the corporal. "But fuel's down to 25%. We'd better find a gas station soon".
Harrigan was wrestling the controls in just about every possible direction, as he tried to keep them centred in the pipe. Suddenly, a black hole appeared ahead, growing large by the second. Soon stars could be seen faintly as they rushed towards them. "Almost there!" whooped the corporal. Harrigan turned towards him. "See, you're getting into the spirit of things already!" laughed Harrigan "Just think of this as another adventure in your long and distinguished military career".
Adventure, the corporal thought. He knew the term, and didn't like any of it. The last "adventure" he'd been on was in Dharan, Saudi Arabia when the scuds hit in 1991; he'd barely got out of that one alive. Adventure seemed to be bad food (MRE's might be nutritious, but they were a culinary encouragement to mutiny), little or no sleep (he'd had about five hours sleep in the past three days) , and lots of people trying to kill you (so far only his own internal organs were attacking him – his dinner had made an escape attempt and succeeded, hadn't it? But he was disturbingly sure real enemies would present themselves soon, and there's nowhere to hide in space).
Then suddenly, the shuttle flew out of the mouth of the pipe, which promptly collapsed behind them. "There goes the exit" moaned the corporal. "Killjoy" teased Harrigan "Mary, get back to your comm gear" he ordered. "See if there are any transmissions in the area. Now that we're in open space again, you should pick something up"
While there was no inhabited planets in their system, the corporal was more right about enemies turning up than he could possibly know. The first of several powerful cultures in this spatial region were about their presence known to him and his crewmates.
They had emerged in the same system as a Peacekeeper experimental test flight. On manoevres from the naval gammak base in the next system; this ship only had three crew – pilot, nav/comms, and one gunner. Their comm system came to life. "Harbringer zero one, we have a vessel of unknown type and capability registering in your system. Intercept and investigate. Detain the crew and bring them and their belongings back to the base. Use the ship for gunnery practice. Command, out".
"I have it!" called the nav "355 dash 010, range about 75 kilometras. Moving slowly. Doesn't even seem to have any hetch drive at all, and very limited sensor equipment". "What about weapons?" asked the gunner. "None at all, sir" the nav responded "No energy signatures associated with pulse guns, frag cannon, or missiles. No emanations from fire-control gear. There is a short range radar though – probably for docking" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "We approach as usual for an unknown vessel" the pilot cut in "Stealth trajectory from behind its engines. Hit it with an immobiliser pulse, board, and retrieve. As directed by our superiors. Any questions?" There were none; this crew were on their first mission. But as with many Peacekeepers, they had been born into the military castes and trained since childhood to fight, which gave them a slight edge over Harrigan's crew.
Just then Mary perked up. "I see something!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Instruments show nothing" queried Harrigan "Where the hell's this thing you've seen?". Just up there" Mary directed. "It doesn't show up on any instruments at all – radar, IR, nothing. Except the good old Mk1 eyeball". "Brilliant!" muttered Harrigan "The first ship we run across is the spaceborne equivalent of a B-2!". "L-T?" quavered the corporal. "Yes?" Harrigan replied. This doesn't sound good, he thought. He was proven right when the corporal spoke again "Sir, I've just seen it. It's on an intercept course from dead aft, moving like a scalded cat. That thing's fast!"
Harrigan came to the only possible conclusion. "Prepare for attack, people" he ordered. However, no sooner had Harrigan spoken than the Harbringer's sole gunner fired the immobiliser pulse. It hit dead centre and blew all electrical systems on the ship. In the inky blackness, the corporal said what was on all their minds "We're dead in the water, sir. Since they could probably have blasted us to pieces five times over, they'll probably..."
"Yes" said Harrigan darkly "Board and storm. Well, we won't just roll over and die. Too late to grab the rifles from the cargo bay...". They heard a clunking sound outside. "They've locked on. They must have artifical gravity, because my feet are firmly on the floor. Pistols ready. Find what cover you can"
On board the Harbringer, things were going exactly as planned. The nav was rather wary, and had just grabbed a sleep grenade from the armoury. "You won't be needing that" the gunner sneered "Most civilian vessels won't tangle with an armed Peacekeeper patrol around here. You worry unduly". The pilot stopped by with the pulse pistols, passing them out. "Never be too complacent, officer" he replied soberly "The nav officer may well be justified in her caution. Your rashness has earnt you first place in the boarding party. Well, come on then" the pilot ordered bluntly "Open the hatch. Seal is firm and positive. Prove your fellows wrong, if you can"
"Here they come" muttered the corporal. Harrigan and Mary raised their pistols. "Wait until they're in full view before you fire, and aim carefully" ordered Harrigan. The door opened quickly as though the enemy was uncaring of the possibility of attack. We'll just prove him wrong, Harrigan thought. He and Mary looked into each other's eyes, nodded, and opened fire as soon as the first boarder was fully visible. Looks a lot like us, Mary thought. They each put three shots into the first Peacekeeper's chest, penetrating the low-level body armour he wore and killing him instantly. As the body fell, one of the others hurled a small object before both remaining Peacekeepers slapped something over their faces.
"Gas..." was all the corporal had time to say before darkness claimed them all. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Approximately forty five minutes later, Harrigan awoke with a bad temper and worse headache. "Oooooh!" he moaned "That crud-ridden gas gave me the lieutenant, sergeant, and whole platoon full of headaches". A few seconds of struggling found another problem. "And these cuffs aren't helping either". "Quiet!" hissed Mary "Whoever's flying this crate hasn't noticed we're awake yet. The corporal's on your side – he awake yet?" she asked. "Nah" Harrigan replied in a more subdued tone of voice "Wait a minute..." Harrigan shook the corporal roughly by the shoulder. "Uh?...urrr....what the...where the hell am I?" he mumbled, still disoriented from the effects of the gas.
"Good news. We're safe" explained Mary. The corporal turned towards her, looking relieved. "We're in a small storeroom, in an unknown ship (probably military), with two very uptight well-armed crew who seem to have forgotten we're here". "Hmm..." pondered the corporal "This is obviously a strange new definition of safe I wasn't previously aware of". "OK, OK" added Harrigan. "Scratch safe. At least we're alive" He quickly looked around the room they were in. "This seems to be all our gear. There's our money..." he said, pointing to a pile of crates behind the corporal "There's our rifles and special weapons..." he added, tapping the crates he was sitting on. "Hope they didn't damage the barrel... and we're still wearing our armour" he finished. Harrigan looked down at his right hip. "Pity they took our pistols" he finished "They obviously aren't completely stupid".
In the Harbringer's bridge, things were not going as well as the remaining crew would prefer. "Officer Leeuwin" stated the pilot "Your planning and forethought in this little endeavour will earn you a commendation". "Thank you, sir" the navigator replied. "However, our late and unlamented gunner continued his Training Academy habit of using every muscle in his body except the one that matters" the pilot continued, tapping the side of his head "How he got into the naval branch, I'll never know" the pilot mused "Infantry would have knocked his stupidity out of him".
"His father serves in detailing for First Command, sir" the navigator explained (Author's note : A detailer in the military works in assigning new posts for his fellow soldiers, so they're useful people to know). "He told us this often during training. Apparently, the training academy were going to assign him to a front-line infantry unit, but parental influence diverted him to the pilot program. There were even bets running among the class on how long it would be before he got himself killed". The pilot turned at that "Really?" he replied, suprised "And the training officer didn't stop it?". "Why?" the navigator replied "Especially as he had 500 krepnas on him dying within two days. The biggest single bet. That's the last he'll see of that money" she sniggered. "When we get back to base, I'll have to see if anyone got closer to his expiry time than me. There's about 2000 krepnas between two classes riding on the correct time survived, sir".
"Let's just get this test flight over with" the pilot sighed. "It's already behind schedule because of these prisoners" he continued, gesturing back towards the storeroom. "We'd better get the ship back to base before the Commandant demotes the pair of us to garbage handler third class. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Get the ship prepared for the return flight. I'll check on the prisoners". The nav sat back at her console and started plotting the course back to the base; the pilot trudged the short distance back to the storeroom.
"Quiet, guys" said the corporal, who had now woken up "Someone's coming!". Harrigan and Mary turned to face the door just as the pilot stepped in. "State your name, rank, and unit!" he barked. Unfortunately, none of them could understand him. "What the frag are you saying, mate?" asked Harrigan "I can't speak your particular brand of gibberish". The pilot, however, understood them very well. Though he managed to restrain himself from thumping any of them, he about-faced and marched to the medical cabinet very stiffly, a sure sign he was angry. He returned with a small air hypo, which after a brief struggle he applied to all three of them. A few seconds later he spoke again.
"Do you understand me now?" he enquired. They did, which surprised them greatly. "What kind of goon juice was in that thing?!" the corporal demanded, pointing to the hypo still in the pilot's hand. The pilot laughed briefly. "It was not 'goon juice' or any other kind of drug" he replied "That was translator microbes. They colonise at the base of your brain, and enable you to understand almost anything said to you in any known language. It doesn't help you understand technical terms or idiom – you'll hear the words, but not their use in context. And of course, some expressions just don't translate at well at all. Now name, rank, and unit. Each of you! Any Sebacean is allowed to say that" he barked. "We aren't Sebaceans" Mary stated. "What?!" the pilot replied, astonished. "You certainly look like us. What are you, then?".
"We're humans" Harrigan added. "This is only the second time any of our race have ventured outside our solar system. The first time was by accident. We came to retrieve the pilot of the first ship, if we can find him". The pilot's comm beeped. "Yes?" he asked. "Course plotted and ready, sir" replied the nav "Long-range comm's still dead, though; and some of the aft sensors are down as well". The pilot shook his head angrily at the incompetence of the flight technicians. "What a surprise" he remarked drily "I suppose we're just lucky it wasn't the hetch drive or artificial gravity pod" He then turned to the prisoners, unlocking their handcuffs. "Don't think this'll get you anywhere. You're in the infantry bunkroom. There's rations over there on the shelf, and bottled water too. We should be back at base shortly, then the Commandant can deal with you"
All three of them headed towards the food. The pilot turned and went back to the bridge. After a few minutes, things settled down a bit in the storeroom. "Their rations taste like ours" replied the corporal "Bland and boring". "Spit it out, then" replied Harrigan, through a mouth full of unidentified dried meat. "John!" Mary replied "Don't speak with your mouth full! Anyway, everyone knows you'd eat anything you can swallow!"
The pilot lowered himself back into his seat with a sigh. I'll be glad to get this over with, he though to himself as he turned the ship back to base. I'm due ten solar days leave, he mused, and I intend sleeping all of it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The nav was half-buried behind an inspection hatch, trying to check the sensors' wiring. It appeared to be holding together. "Right..." she muttered "Here goes nothing" and pressed the 'on' button. All the displays lit up, so she checked the diagnostic readouts. "Sensors back online, sir" she stated. "Full sensor sweep" the pilot ordered "It'll wring the bugs out of the system, and let us know what's out there. We're half way back already, we don't need any more suprises. No more than 30 microts". After 30 microts, the nav replied "Nothing on active or passive sensors, sir. But the asteriod belt on the outer edge of the system is coming up". The pilot's swift rejoinder was "Indeed. But we came through that without running across Sheyang raiders, mining transports, civilian pleasure craft, or anything even remotely Scarran; we should be safe enough going back the other way. Active sensors to standby, nav – better not give away our position to any eagle-eyed transport crews out there, hmmm?". Officer Leeuwin was however, slightly paranoid by nature and didn't share her captain's optimistic outlook for the return journey. She resolved to keep the sensors tuned to maximum range and hope she saw nothing.
The Scarran captain on the other side of the belt was eager to turn his ship around and return to his base as well. But his orders were clear – 'Scan for Peacekeeper activity near transport route to suspected gammak base, capture first Peacekeeper vessel and return with said vessel for examination and crew interrogation'. We'd better be allowed to actually interrogate this lot, he thought, because the scientists killed the last ones in their experiments before we could get to them.
"Sensors!" he barked. The duty nav officer checked her screen for a few microts, and replied "Nothing, Captain. Not even a electronic shadow. Certainly nothing ship-sized; nothing even boot-sized, sir". "Very well" he grumbled, turning to his air ops officer "Anything from the scouts?". There was no more luck there either. "Nothing here either, sir" that officer replied. "No intruder crews have reported anything since launching five arns ago". The Captain really didn't like that at all, but one option did present itself to him. "Send out two stealth capsules into the belt. They're to keep their sensors on maxiumum detail and range. Rotate them every arn to keep them fresh". "But, Sir" the nav officer interrupted "They won't be able to contact this ship from within the belt. I suggest deploying an Intruder close to the outer edge of the belt as a relay point.". "Noted" the Captain responded "Air ops?". "Sir?" the air ops officer replied "Deploy two of our best scout pilots in stealth capsules to the belt. Move two units of the Intruder patrol to the edge of the belt to relay communications, and instruct everyone to keep their eyes open and be careful. I don't need to lose any pilots to collisions with asteroids".
Microts later, two stealth capsules popped out of the portside launch bay. Small vessels, they barely had enough room for their pilot; neither were they armed. All the space saved from pilot comforts and weaponry was used to mount the best sensors Scarran technology could provide. They were the eyes and ears of all Scarran battlegroups, and only the best of the best were permitted to fly them. "Wraith flight of two free and flying" the flight leader whispered over. "Proceeding to scout out the belt as ordered. Just make sure that damn intruder pilot's comm gear is on". The second pilot chuckled softly in the privacy of his capsule at that. On their last mission, the ship appointed as comm relay had a critical failure in the comm gear, causing the mission to be scrubbed at the last moment. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Lead" she whispered "I'll split left, and go past that huge lump 20 kilometras dead ahead. You take the right side; past the smaller group of asteroids 10 kilometras starboard of it. Break". Cutting the comms, she peeled off slowly to the left, heading to one side of the previously mentioned asteroid. Her flight leader swung right, heading for the large group of smaller rocks. Soon she had little time for comm chatter; she was in amongst the tight confines of the asteroid belt where it took all of here considerable piloting skill just to survive.
The Harbringer's pilot wasn't having an easy time of it either on the other side of the belt. Though he was an excellent pilot, the Harbringer was not a particularly small ship and flying through a large mass of spinning rocks was really trying both his skill and patience. "Frelling rocks" he muttered after the third near miss in a quarter-arn "If I never see another frelling asteroid as long as I live it'll be too soon".
The prisoners weren't liking it too much either. "What on earth's wrong?" Harrigan yelled "Has that damn pilot got hiccups or something?". The corporal managed to stand up long enough to peer out of the small window. "Asteroid field" he replied "Tight and nasty. That's why we're all over the place. I hope it stops soon" he continued queasily "I can feel those rations fighting back already". "Keep 'em down, corp" pleaded Mary "We don't want our first contact with these people to be your puke hittng the floor". Just then the interphone came to life "In case you haven't noticed" the nav explained from the speaker "we're passing through an asteroid field. It's going to be rough for a while, so grab on to something". Mary pressed the transmit button on the wall "If something doesn't change soon" she replied "our flight engineer will be decorating the floor with his lunch". The only reply was "The sink's on the wall".
The nav turned back to her radar console, shaking her head with exasperation. "One of theose prisoners isn't taking this too well. He's apparently about to throw up all over the infantry bunkroom". "What the frell was he doing in that ship, then?!" the pilot replied, surprised "Even that antiquated lump we found them in should need more stable crew than that!". The nav quickly cut in "Contact!" she exclaimed "Faint heat trace, distance 30 kilometras, heading approx 345 dash 322". "Identify!" he barked. The nav hit a few keys and waited. A synthesised "No match" came from the speaker. "Now's the time to put those hours in front of ship ID books to good use, trainee" the pilot stated "The computer hasn't a clue. What do you think?". The nav racked her brains for a few microts and didn't like the answer she came up with "I know I have a reputation for paranoia, sir; but if I had to hazard a guess" she replied "I'd say we caught a Scarran stealth vessel in a sharp turn. With any luck, its pilot's having as hard a time as you are navigating in here". The pilot mulled this over for a few microts, and replied with "Keep you eyes open. If it is a stealth capsule, it'll have a wingman around – those things don't travel alone. We'd better keep an eye out for Intruders as well; we're almost out of the belt now."
The flight lead couldn't help but break comm silence over his partner's sharp turn. "Not so hard!" he barked softly "You'll give yourself away!". "I really doubt that, sir" she replied "We haven't seen a thing for almost an arn and a half". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The flight lead was rapidly losing patience, and responded with"Don't take chances! Never take chances! Your capsule does not have any weapons. One mistake like that and a trigger-happy Peacekeeper will blast you to atoms! Out!" he finished, slapping the 'off' button. Pilots today, he mused, Too impetuous. They imagine it'll be at the head of an fighter squadron, screaming towards a Peacekeeper battlegroup. Instead, they end up skulking around an asteroid belt in a stealth capsule, sniffing out enemies, without a single weapon to your name and no armour worth speaking of.
"Contact!" the Harbringer's nav sang out again "Transmission intercepted between stealth vessel and what's probably its wingman. Positions of both parties plotted. Range 4 kilometras, bearing 260 dash 000, on the first contact; second contact range probably 5 kilometras, bearing 010 dash 342". The nav was praising Peacekeeper naval design over and over in her head for her advanced comm and ELINT gear as it had saved their lives more than once already. The pilot sniggered nastily, as he always did when creeping up on an enemy who didn't know he was there. "Knock, knock, Mr Scarran – I'm home!" he said under his breath. "Notify the prisoners to keep quiet and prepare for evasive manouevres" the pilot ordered excitedly "We go to war. Those capsules will never survive long enough to report back to their dreadnought – I'll see to it personally!". He threaded through a collection of small asteroids and saw a small black lump further off. "Well, well, well" he mused aloud. "Stealth capsule, sir" confirmed the nav "Matches the book exactly. First time I've seen one. Better be careful sir – it may be able to detect us close in"
The interphone crackled to life in the bunkroom. "Enemy vessel sighted. Secure loose objects and prepare for combat" floated out of the speaker. "And we're stuck in here" moaned Harrigan. "Like they care" replied Mary brusquely "Keep it quiet. Stash that ration pack in the footlocker and let's all strap down" she finished, pointing to the harnesses on the wall seats.
The Harbringer heeled over sharply, coming in on the hapless capsule from behind at high speed. The capsule's sensors didn't even twitch; the Harbringer was a stealth vessel as well, and of a much higher standard than the Scarran vessel. Only the fact that the pilot was actually looking behind his capsule gave him enough time to open the comm and shout "Conta--- "before his Peacekeeper opponent unleashed several punishing blasts from the Harbringer's forward pulse cannons, blasting him to smithereens.
The remaining capsule pilot wasted no time in shoving her throttles to maximum and fleeing for her dreadnaught, screaming over the comm the whole time. Back on the dreadnaught, the bridge crew exploded into action. "Vector the Intruder patrol onto the returning capsule!" yelled the Captain "Order the frigate Starbreaker into position between us and the belt. We stay here". His comm officer put him through to the Starbreaker. "Captain" he stated. "Sir" came the reply. "You are to ensure the return of the remaining stealth capsule, and the capture of the enemy ship. Orders are that it and its crew must be returned to base alive". The frigate Captain started to speak, but the senior Captain overrode him "And unspoiled". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
The bellowing engines got even louder. The tower gantries fell away, and the shuttle rose into the sky, looking less like a bloated humpback whale and more like an orca hunting prey. Of course, due to the extreme engine noise and g-forces, the crew didn't know that, or indeed even care; they felt like they were being pulped inside an metal barrel which was being relentlessly pounded with jackhammers; they just wanted the noise to stop and their stomachs to settle. A few minutes later, the corporal called out over the interphone and ground comm "BECO" (Booster Engine Cut Off) as the solid-fuel boosters separated from the huge tank beneath them. Another few minutes later the corporal announced "OK, Harrigan. Time for the first OMS burn. Just a slow barrel roll". Harrigan rolled the shuttle slowly through a complet circle. The corporal reported to DK "First OMS burn successful and on time".
A few more minutes passed, and the tank itself fell away. The corporal reported this to ground control, where DK said they were all in the green still. Shortly afterwards, the outer skin started to glow. "What's that all about?" asked the corporal. "We're passing through the outer atmosphere into space" Harrigan replied "That glow is just friction on the shuttle skin. Don't worry – it'll take it". Shortly afterwards the pressure eased as Harrigan pulled the throttles back from escape velocity. He thumbed the comm and reported "Ground control, this is your pilot reporting. I am happy to report we have achieved orbit and are all still alive" A chorus of happy laughs could be heard faintly from Harrigan's headphones. A loud heaving sound came from the corporal's direction. Harrigan turned to find out what happened. When he turned back, he added to the ground report "I am not so happy to report that the corporals' dinner has achieved escape velocity as well, separating from it's owner and swallower at approximately" Harrigan quickly looked at the wall clock "2230 hours. We could have done without projectile vomit in the cockpit, though. Note for his file : fined $50 for vomiting in orbit, suspended if he gets out of his seat now and cleans it up without throwing up again. Second OMS burn now." Harrrigan pulled another slow barrel roll "No known defects. Over to you, DK".
Before DK could start, however, General Franklin took over. "I'll just say a few things before you continue with your mission. First to Mary. Your government has been notified of your presence on board, and says the hope and prayers of the nation go out for you – even though they didn't know about the mission beforehand. I suppose they could use some favourable publicity" Harrigan looked over at Mary, who was actually crying with happiness. "I shouldn't, I know" Mary sniffed "But that's the first time my superiors have said that, even if they don't mean it". General Franklin continued with "To your corporal. Corp, your old L-T sends 'Go to it, and good luck'. Your girlfriend tried to send a whole bunch of stuff , mostly related to a whole bunch of crackpot military/UFO conspiracy theories; but she sends her love as well". "Just keep her away from the National Enquirer and Sunday Sport and you'll get something coherent and sane out of her" the corporal replied. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Now you, Lieutenant" the General carried on "Never has one officer, even your Captain, caused so much havoc on my base during his tenure here. But you've been the best way of keeping the MP's and grunts on their toes there's ever been, and it's been a pleasure serving with you, though frequently very trying". A stunned Harrigan replied "Thank you sir!". General Franklin finished with "Now go and cause havoc and raise hell in places that haven't seen humans before!" and passed control back to DK.
"This bit's going to be tricky" DK stated "You will need to follow my instructions exactly. We'll be duplicating the initial Farscape experiment as closely as possible. One major thing. Later, if things go as planned, some kind of electromagnetic wave/tunnel/pipe thing will appear. We probably won't have clear comms then; we didn't with Commander Crichton either. GO INTO THE PIPE. Yes, all the way in. From then on, it's highly unlikely we'll be able to get you back at all. If you wish to return, it's totally up to you to find a way". Harrigan, Mary, and the corporal looked at each other, shrugged, and turned back to their instruments. "Harrigan, you'll need to dive into, and skim the top of, the atmosphere until I say. Then pull out. Now!".
Harrigan pushed the throttles forward and dove towards Earth. He pulled level just as the hull started to glow. The controls weren't too stable, which Harrigan reported. "Just spatial turbulence. More pronounced with you; the original module fit in your cargo hold – the shuttle's much bigger". "Ohhh, shhhiiiiiittttt!" moaned the corporal, and promptly vomited the last remains of his dinner into his helmet. "Stash that thing where it won't float loose!" yelled Mary, and the corporal complied queasily.
"How much longer, DK?" asked Mary. "Three minutes from my mark. Mark!" replied DK. "I copy" stated Harrigan. "Two minutes..." came and passed. "One minute..." disappeared into the ether. "OK, ears open people!" yelled DK "30 seconds...20 seconds...10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...Now! Pull up!". Harrigan hauled backed the control stick with all his strength. Shortly the shuttle slipped free and shot off into space. Soon there appeared, as described, a strange bluish phenomena directly ahead. Mary tried to get through to Earth – nothing but static.
Back in ground control, DK sat back. "There we go. Our part ends here" DK stated. "We'll continue to keep our eyes and ears on the comm for any trace of Harrigan's crew, but we have no more influence from here on in". General Franklin stepped in "Captain, you'll have to return to SOAW HQ with your squad. I'm sorry, but it's just too hot for you here now. I've got three C-130s on hand to fly your squad, your equipment, and you household effects back to Nellis. They've been notified of your arrival and quarters are waiting for you". They all shook hands, and went their separate ways. Captain Lazarus had a whole squad to move – this would take all week.
In the shuttle, Harrigan aimed the shuttle dead centre for the entrance to this strange thing. Soon, they were all the way inside the pipe. "No turning back now, eh?" said the corporal. "Indeed no" replied Mary, as Harrigan was too busy threading their way through the pipe. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "But even if we could return, would you really want to? We'll be the first to see a bunch of strange new places, meet strange new creatures, and kill them in strange new ways". "Only if they stop us getting to Commander Crichton"ordered Harrigan from the pilot's chair "This is primarily a retrieval mission – not an assault mission. That's all". Mary moved over to the copilot's chair – her comm gear was useless right now, so she figured she might as well get a good view. "How are things going enginewise, corporal?" Mary asked. "Borderline, but within safe tolerances, people" the corporal. "But fuel's down to 25%. We'd better find a gas station soon".
Harrigan was wrestling the controls in just about every possible direction, as he tried to keep them centred in the pipe. Suddenly, a black hole appeared ahead, growing large by the second. Soon stars could be seen faintly as they rushed towards them. "Almost there!" whooped the corporal. Harrigan turned towards him. "See, you're getting into the spirit of things already!" laughed Harrigan "Just think of this as another adventure in your long and distinguished military career".
Adventure, the corporal thought. He knew the term, and didn't like any of it. The last "adventure" he'd been on was in Dharan, Saudi Arabia when the scuds hit in 1991; he'd barely got out of that one alive. Adventure seemed to be bad food (MRE's might be nutritious, but they were a culinary encouragement to mutiny), little or no sleep (he'd had about five hours sleep in the past three days) , and lots of people trying to kill you (so far only his own internal organs were attacking him – his dinner had made an escape attempt and succeeded, hadn't it? But he was disturbingly sure real enemies would present themselves soon, and there's nowhere to hide in space).
Then suddenly, the shuttle flew out of the mouth of the pipe, which promptly collapsed behind them. "There goes the exit" moaned the corporal. "Killjoy" teased Harrigan "Mary, get back to your comm gear" he ordered. "See if there are any transmissions in the area. Now that we're in open space again, you should pick something up"
While there was no inhabited planets in their system, the corporal was more right about enemies turning up than he could possibly know. The first of several powerful cultures in this spatial region were about their presence known to him and his crewmates.
They had emerged in the same system as a Peacekeeper experimental test flight. On manoevres from the naval gammak base in the next system; this ship only had three crew – pilot, nav/comms, and one gunner. Their comm system came to life. "Harbringer zero one, we have a vessel of unknown type and capability registering in your system. Intercept and investigate. Detain the crew and bring them and their belongings back to the base. Use the ship for gunnery practice. Command, out".
"I have it!" called the nav "355 dash 010, range about 75 kilometras. Moving slowly. Doesn't even seem to have any hetch drive at all, and very limited sensor equipment". "What about weapons?" asked the gunner. "None at all, sir" the nav responded "No energy signatures associated with pulse guns, frag cannon, or missiles. No emanations from fire-control gear. There is a short range radar though – probably for docking" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "We approach as usual for an unknown vessel" the pilot cut in "Stealth trajectory from behind its engines. Hit it with an immobiliser pulse, board, and retrieve. As directed by our superiors. Any questions?" There were none; this crew were on their first mission. But as with many Peacekeepers, they had been born into the military castes and trained since childhood to fight, which gave them a slight edge over Harrigan's crew.
Just then Mary perked up. "I see something!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Instruments show nothing" queried Harrigan "Where the hell's this thing you've seen?". Just up there" Mary directed. "It doesn't show up on any instruments at all – radar, IR, nothing. Except the good old Mk1 eyeball". "Brilliant!" muttered Harrigan "The first ship we run across is the spaceborne equivalent of a B-2!". "L-T?" quavered the corporal. "Yes?" Harrigan replied. This doesn't sound good, he thought. He was proven right when the corporal spoke again "Sir, I've just seen it. It's on an intercept course from dead aft, moving like a scalded cat. That thing's fast!"
Harrigan came to the only possible conclusion. "Prepare for attack, people" he ordered. However, no sooner had Harrigan spoken than the Harbringer's sole gunner fired the immobiliser pulse. It hit dead centre and blew all electrical systems on the ship. In the inky blackness, the corporal said what was on all their minds "We're dead in the water, sir. Since they could probably have blasted us to pieces five times over, they'll probably..."
"Yes" said Harrigan darkly "Board and storm. Well, we won't just roll over and die. Too late to grab the rifles from the cargo bay...". They heard a clunking sound outside. "They've locked on. They must have artifical gravity, because my feet are firmly on the floor. Pistols ready. Find what cover you can"
On board the Harbringer, things were going exactly as planned. The nav was rather wary, and had just grabbed a sleep grenade from the armoury. "You won't be needing that" the gunner sneered "Most civilian vessels won't tangle with an armed Peacekeeper patrol around here. You worry unduly". The pilot stopped by with the pulse pistols, passing them out. "Never be too complacent, officer" he replied soberly "The nav officer may well be justified in her caution. Your rashness has earnt you first place in the boarding party. Well, come on then" the pilot ordered bluntly "Open the hatch. Seal is firm and positive. Prove your fellows wrong, if you can"
"Here they come" muttered the corporal. Harrigan and Mary raised their pistols. "Wait until they're in full view before you fire, and aim carefully" ordered Harrigan. The door opened quickly as though the enemy was uncaring of the possibility of attack. We'll just prove him wrong, Harrigan thought. He and Mary looked into each other's eyes, nodded, and opened fire as soon as the first boarder was fully visible. Looks a lot like us, Mary thought. They each put three shots into the first Peacekeeper's chest, penetrating the low-level body armour he wore and killing him instantly. As the body fell, one of the others hurled a small object before both remaining Peacekeepers slapped something over their faces.
"Gas..." was all the corporal had time to say before darkness claimed them all. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Approximately forty five minutes later, Harrigan awoke with a bad temper and worse headache. "Oooooh!" he moaned "That crud-ridden gas gave me the lieutenant, sergeant, and whole platoon full of headaches". A few seconds of struggling found another problem. "And these cuffs aren't helping either". "Quiet!" hissed Mary "Whoever's flying this crate hasn't noticed we're awake yet. The corporal's on your side – he awake yet?" she asked. "Nah" Harrigan replied in a more subdued tone of voice "Wait a minute..." Harrigan shook the corporal roughly by the shoulder. "Uh?...urrr....what the...where the hell am I?" he mumbled, still disoriented from the effects of the gas.
"Good news. We're safe" explained Mary. The corporal turned towards her, looking relieved. "We're in a small storeroom, in an unknown ship (probably military), with two very uptight well-armed crew who seem to have forgotten we're here". "Hmm..." pondered the corporal "This is obviously a strange new definition of safe I wasn't previously aware of". "OK, OK" added Harrigan. "Scratch safe. At least we're alive" He quickly looked around the room they were in. "This seems to be all our gear. There's our money..." he said, pointing to a pile of crates behind the corporal "There's our rifles and special weapons..." he added, tapping the crates he was sitting on. "Hope they didn't damage the barrel... and we're still wearing our armour" he finished. Harrigan looked down at his right hip. "Pity they took our pistols" he finished "They obviously aren't completely stupid".
In the Harbringer's bridge, things were not going as well as the remaining crew would prefer. "Officer Leeuwin" stated the pilot "Your planning and forethought in this little endeavour will earn you a commendation". "Thank you, sir" the navigator replied. "However, our late and unlamented gunner continued his Training Academy habit of using every muscle in his body except the one that matters" the pilot continued, tapping the side of his head "How he got into the naval branch, I'll never know" the pilot mused "Infantry would have knocked his stupidity out of him".
"His father serves in detailing for First Command, sir" the navigator explained (Author's note : A detailer in the military works in assigning new posts for his fellow soldiers, so they're useful people to know). "He told us this often during training. Apparently, the training academy were going to assign him to a front-line infantry unit, but parental influence diverted him to the pilot program. There were even bets running among the class on how long it would be before he got himself killed". The pilot turned at that "Really?" he replied, suprised "And the training officer didn't stop it?". "Why?" the navigator replied "Especially as he had 500 krepnas on him dying within two days. The biggest single bet. That's the last he'll see of that money" she sniggered. "When we get back to base, I'll have to see if anyone got closer to his expiry time than me. There's about 2000 krepnas between two classes riding on the correct time survived, sir".
"Let's just get this test flight over with" the pilot sighed. "It's already behind schedule because of these prisoners" he continued, gesturing back towards the storeroom. "We'd better get the ship back to base before the Commandant demotes the pair of us to garbage handler third class. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Get the ship prepared for the return flight. I'll check on the prisoners". The nav sat back at her console and started plotting the course back to the base; the pilot trudged the short distance back to the storeroom.
"Quiet, guys" said the corporal, who had now woken up "Someone's coming!". Harrigan and Mary turned to face the door just as the pilot stepped in. "State your name, rank, and unit!" he barked. Unfortunately, none of them could understand him. "What the frag are you saying, mate?" asked Harrigan "I can't speak your particular brand of gibberish". The pilot, however, understood them very well. Though he managed to restrain himself from thumping any of them, he about-faced and marched to the medical cabinet very stiffly, a sure sign he was angry. He returned with a small air hypo, which after a brief struggle he applied to all three of them. A few seconds later he spoke again.
"Do you understand me now?" he enquired. They did, which surprised them greatly. "What kind of goon juice was in that thing?!" the corporal demanded, pointing to the hypo still in the pilot's hand. The pilot laughed briefly. "It was not 'goon juice' or any other kind of drug" he replied "That was translator microbes. They colonise at the base of your brain, and enable you to understand almost anything said to you in any known language. It doesn't help you understand technical terms or idiom – you'll hear the words, but not their use in context. And of course, some expressions just don't translate at well at all. Now name, rank, and unit. Each of you! Any Sebacean is allowed to say that" he barked. "We aren't Sebaceans" Mary stated. "What?!" the pilot replied, astonished. "You certainly look like us. What are you, then?".
"We're humans" Harrigan added. "This is only the second time any of our race have ventured outside our solar system. The first time was by accident. We came to retrieve the pilot of the first ship, if we can find him". The pilot's comm beeped. "Yes?" he asked. "Course plotted and ready, sir" replied the nav "Long-range comm's still dead, though; and some of the aft sensors are down as well". The pilot shook his head angrily at the incompetence of the flight technicians. "What a surprise" he remarked drily "I suppose we're just lucky it wasn't the hetch drive or artificial gravity pod" He then turned to the prisoners, unlocking their handcuffs. "Don't think this'll get you anywhere. You're in the infantry bunkroom. There's rations over there on the shelf, and bottled water too. We should be back at base shortly, then the Commandant can deal with you"
All three of them headed towards the food. The pilot turned and went back to the bridge. After a few minutes, things settled down a bit in the storeroom. "Their rations taste like ours" replied the corporal "Bland and boring". "Spit it out, then" replied Harrigan, through a mouth full of unidentified dried meat. "John!" Mary replied "Don't speak with your mouth full! Anyway, everyone knows you'd eat anything you can swallow!"
The pilot lowered himself back into his seat with a sigh. I'll be glad to get this over with, he though to himself as he turned the ship back to base. I'm due ten solar days leave, he mused, and I intend sleeping all of it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The nav was half-buried behind an inspection hatch, trying to check the sensors' wiring. It appeared to be holding together. "Right..." she muttered "Here goes nothing" and pressed the 'on' button. All the displays lit up, so she checked the diagnostic readouts. "Sensors back online, sir" she stated. "Full sensor sweep" the pilot ordered "It'll wring the bugs out of the system, and let us know what's out there. We're half way back already, we don't need any more suprises. No more than 30 microts". After 30 microts, the nav replied "Nothing on active or passive sensors, sir. But the asteriod belt on the outer edge of the system is coming up". The pilot's swift rejoinder was "Indeed. But we came through that without running across Sheyang raiders, mining transports, civilian pleasure craft, or anything even remotely Scarran; we should be safe enough going back the other way. Active sensors to standby, nav – better not give away our position to any eagle-eyed transport crews out there, hmmm?". Officer Leeuwin was however, slightly paranoid by nature and didn't share her captain's optimistic outlook for the return journey. She resolved to keep the sensors tuned to maximum range and hope she saw nothing.
The Scarran captain on the other side of the belt was eager to turn his ship around and return to his base as well. But his orders were clear – 'Scan for Peacekeeper activity near transport route to suspected gammak base, capture first Peacekeeper vessel and return with said vessel for examination and crew interrogation'. We'd better be allowed to actually interrogate this lot, he thought, because the scientists killed the last ones in their experiments before we could get to them.
"Sensors!" he barked. The duty nav officer checked her screen for a few microts, and replied "Nothing, Captain. Not even a electronic shadow. Certainly nothing ship-sized; nothing even boot-sized, sir". "Very well" he grumbled, turning to his air ops officer "Anything from the scouts?". There was no more luck there either. "Nothing here either, sir" that officer replied. "No intruder crews have reported anything since launching five arns ago". The Captain really didn't like that at all, but one option did present itself to him. "Send out two stealth capsules into the belt. They're to keep their sensors on maxiumum detail and range. Rotate them every arn to keep them fresh". "But, Sir" the nav officer interrupted "They won't be able to contact this ship from within the belt. I suggest deploying an Intruder close to the outer edge of the belt as a relay point.". "Noted" the Captain responded "Air ops?". "Sir?" the air ops officer replied "Deploy two of our best scout pilots in stealth capsules to the belt. Move two units of the Intruder patrol to the edge of the belt to relay communications, and instruct everyone to keep their eyes open and be careful. I don't need to lose any pilots to collisions with asteroids".
Microts later, two stealth capsules popped out of the portside launch bay. Small vessels, they barely had enough room for their pilot; neither were they armed. All the space saved from pilot comforts and weaponry was used to mount the best sensors Scarran technology could provide. They were the eyes and ears of all Scarran battlegroups, and only the best of the best were permitted to fly them. "Wraith flight of two free and flying" the flight leader whispered over. "Proceeding to scout out the belt as ordered. Just make sure that damn intruder pilot's comm gear is on". The second pilot chuckled softly in the privacy of his capsule at that. On their last mission, the ship appointed as comm relay had a critical failure in the comm gear, causing the mission to be scrubbed at the last moment. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Lead" she whispered "I'll split left, and go past that huge lump 20 kilometras dead ahead. You take the right side; past the smaller group of asteroids 10 kilometras starboard of it. Break". Cutting the comms, she peeled off slowly to the left, heading to one side of the previously mentioned asteroid. Her flight leader swung right, heading for the large group of smaller rocks. Soon she had little time for comm chatter; she was in amongst the tight confines of the asteroid belt where it took all of here considerable piloting skill just to survive.
The Harbringer's pilot wasn't having an easy time of it either on the other side of the belt. Though he was an excellent pilot, the Harbringer was not a particularly small ship and flying through a large mass of spinning rocks was really trying both his skill and patience. "Frelling rocks" he muttered after the third near miss in a quarter-arn "If I never see another frelling asteroid as long as I live it'll be too soon".
The prisoners weren't liking it too much either. "What on earth's wrong?" Harrigan yelled "Has that damn pilot got hiccups or something?". The corporal managed to stand up long enough to peer out of the small window. "Asteroid field" he replied "Tight and nasty. That's why we're all over the place. I hope it stops soon" he continued queasily "I can feel those rations fighting back already". "Keep 'em down, corp" pleaded Mary "We don't want our first contact with these people to be your puke hittng the floor". Just then the interphone came to life "In case you haven't noticed" the nav explained from the speaker "we're passing through an asteroid field. It's going to be rough for a while, so grab on to something". Mary pressed the transmit button on the wall "If something doesn't change soon" she replied "our flight engineer will be decorating the floor with his lunch". The only reply was "The sink's on the wall".
The nav turned back to her radar console, shaking her head with exasperation. "One of theose prisoners isn't taking this too well. He's apparently about to throw up all over the infantry bunkroom". "What the frell was he doing in that ship, then?!" the pilot replied, surprised "Even that antiquated lump we found them in should need more stable crew than that!". The nav quickly cut in "Contact!" she exclaimed "Faint heat trace, distance 30 kilometras, heading approx 345 dash 322". "Identify!" he barked. The nav hit a few keys and waited. A synthesised "No match" came from the speaker. "Now's the time to put those hours in front of ship ID books to good use, trainee" the pilot stated "The computer hasn't a clue. What do you think?". The nav racked her brains for a few microts and didn't like the answer she came up with "I know I have a reputation for paranoia, sir; but if I had to hazard a guess" she replied "I'd say we caught a Scarran stealth vessel in a sharp turn. With any luck, its pilot's having as hard a time as you are navigating in here". The pilot mulled this over for a few microts, and replied with "Keep you eyes open. If it is a stealth capsule, it'll have a wingman around – those things don't travel alone. We'd better keep an eye out for Intruders as well; we're almost out of the belt now."
The flight lead couldn't help but break comm silence over his partner's sharp turn. "Not so hard!" he barked softly "You'll give yourself away!". "I really doubt that, sir" she replied "We haven't seen a thing for almost an arn and a half". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The flight lead was rapidly losing patience, and responded with"Don't take chances! Never take chances! Your capsule does not have any weapons. One mistake like that and a trigger-happy Peacekeeper will blast you to atoms! Out!" he finished, slapping the 'off' button. Pilots today, he mused, Too impetuous. They imagine it'll be at the head of an fighter squadron, screaming towards a Peacekeeper battlegroup. Instead, they end up skulking around an asteroid belt in a stealth capsule, sniffing out enemies, without a single weapon to your name and no armour worth speaking of.
"Contact!" the Harbringer's nav sang out again "Transmission intercepted between stealth vessel and what's probably its wingman. Positions of both parties plotted. Range 4 kilometras, bearing 260 dash 000, on the first contact; second contact range probably 5 kilometras, bearing 010 dash 342". The nav was praising Peacekeeper naval design over and over in her head for her advanced comm and ELINT gear as it had saved their lives more than once already. The pilot sniggered nastily, as he always did when creeping up on an enemy who didn't know he was there. "Knock, knock, Mr Scarran – I'm home!" he said under his breath. "Notify the prisoners to keep quiet and prepare for evasive manouevres" the pilot ordered excitedly "We go to war. Those capsules will never survive long enough to report back to their dreadnought – I'll see to it personally!". He threaded through a collection of small asteroids and saw a small black lump further off. "Well, well, well" he mused aloud. "Stealth capsule, sir" confirmed the nav "Matches the book exactly. First time I've seen one. Better be careful sir – it may be able to detect us close in"
The interphone crackled to life in the bunkroom. "Enemy vessel sighted. Secure loose objects and prepare for combat" floated out of the speaker. "And we're stuck in here" moaned Harrigan. "Like they care" replied Mary brusquely "Keep it quiet. Stash that ration pack in the footlocker and let's all strap down" she finished, pointing to the harnesses on the wall seats.
The Harbringer heeled over sharply, coming in on the hapless capsule from behind at high speed. The capsule's sensors didn't even twitch; the Harbringer was a stealth vessel as well, and of a much higher standard than the Scarran vessel. Only the fact that the pilot was actually looking behind his capsule gave him enough time to open the comm and shout "Conta--- "before his Peacekeeper opponent unleashed several punishing blasts from the Harbringer's forward pulse cannons, blasting him to smithereens.
The remaining capsule pilot wasted no time in shoving her throttles to maximum and fleeing for her dreadnaught, screaming over the comm the whole time. Back on the dreadnaught, the bridge crew exploded into action. "Vector the Intruder patrol onto the returning capsule!" yelled the Captain "Order the frigate Starbreaker into position between us and the belt. We stay here". His comm officer put him through to the Starbreaker. "Captain" he stated. "Sir" came the reply. "You are to ensure the return of the remaining stealth capsule, and the capture of the enemy ship. Orders are that it and its crew must be returned to base alive". The frigate Captain started to speak, but the senior Captain overrode him "And unspoiled". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------