Rinzon Academy of Science ship Knowledge Hunter
Unknown location
August 1, 2558
No sooner had Meredith Adrian fallen asleep in her cabin when she was awoken by a scream and the staccato rattling of gunfire.
The Knowledge Hunter was one of the expedition ships that took students from the Rinzon Academy of Science onto a voyage for multiple fields of work for students enrolled. All of those on the voyage were reminded that some areas the ship would venture into were dangerous from bandits of kig-yar and their skirmisher subspecies, with five ships vanishing within the last couple of months. To help prevent the frequency of an attack, the ship's arms locker held a shotgun and some pistols. However, that was next to nothing going up against anything from full auto rifles to plasma weapons that pirates often got from Covenant suppliers.
Adrian was one of the six females out of the Hunter's crew of fifty and most of the students were an entire decade younger than her. Even though she was not one of the students or instructors, she was vital especially in the lab operations that the classes relied on. Since her male roommate was sick before the ship even left her homeport on Flint, she had the entire cabin to herself and she kept her room tidy for frequent visitors.
At thirty seven years old, she had been the twin sister of a brother who met an early death in a surprise attack against Covenant forces. Adrian stood roughly five feet and eleven inches tall. She had light brown hair that went down to her shoulders and deep blue eyes that could mesmerize anyone if stared long enough into. Her body was lean, athletic and curvy, more than enough to catch some guy's wandering gazes especially during her twenties.
More gunfire erupted in the hallway just outside of her cabin. With fight or flight instincts kicking in, she rushed to the bottom of her bed. In a flurry of motion, she tore the clothes out of her bags and stuffed them underneath the bed. She also gathered the sheets and blankets from her own bed as well. Wedging herself in between, the gunfire grew closer until the climax point, where her cabin door was thrown open and the attackers entered, rifles drawn. The form was easily known to her, with thruster packs on the back, these were jackals, one of the most feared types of pirates. More than once, has she heard of a horrifying story of a jackal bandit encounter. At first, they were raiding small ships for valuable goods. Now they had been reported seizing entire freighters and holding crews hostage for ransom. The concept for this type of piracy has been in use since voyaging across Earth's oceans when made possible.
The pirate was clad in an airtight suit and he moved in an almost primal style. It was making a lower pitch growl in its language, likely to its superior. Instead of a jackal, this was a skirmisher. Still ugly as ever, instead of a mixture of clothing, he wore a white uniform underneath patches of bulky armor that enhanced his senses. The domed helmet was blinking as the visible HUD scanned the surroundings. She prayed that it didn't have any heat seeking capabilities.
There was a strange symbol on the weapon that he carried. With money flowing from ransoms and raids, it meant that these pirates were organized and actually branded themselves with a name and an emblem. He was checking the covers of the other bunk and when unsatisfied, moved into the bathroom. Her mind was moving at a thousand miles an hour and she was attempting to breathe at the quietest volume possible. She heard the pirate open the shower curtains and growl in frustration before walking out, likely assured that it was vacant.
The gunfire had ceased after a few minutes, but the screams started again. Another sickening sound, flesh being ripped from a body was moments later. She felt something warm being forced up her mouth and swallowed hard, forcing the bile back down.
Waiting for another hour of silence felt like eternity for her. She crawled out of her hiding place, knowing that the pirates were still going to do something to hide their evidence of any raid at all. Her answer had come almost immediately as a loud roar came from the halls. Adrian looked down to see cold water from the ship's water tank lapping at her feet. It was extremely cold and had some ice drifting around.
Her adrenaline spiked again, the pirates had let the cryo pods open, setting the entire ship into a frozen waste. Sprinting out and keeping her balance in the wetness, she paused at the hall's door, putting her ear to the threshold for any noise. It was all silent except for the whooshing sound of flowing water. The power to the Hunter was out, so she twisted the emergency hatch. It was shut tightly, too tight for anything to be done about it.
She strained again until black spots began swimming in her vision before collapsing, all hopes of escaping vanished. Hell, even if she was able to get off, it wouldn't be long before she was back in the pirate's clutches.
What Meredith Adrian didn't know was that the Hunter was well deep into uncharted territory by either UNSC or Covenant. The vessel that had once been the pride of the Rinzon Academy was now a former shadow of herself, far from any hope of salvation.
Wow, organized pirates?! Could they be connected to Prith's op? Or is something even darker going on in the shadows?