Star Man 1: Star Bourne

by I. G. Roberts

  The prisoners soon organised themselves and those of us who were to leave the prisoner quarters, left to carry out our normal duties. When everyone who needed to, left the prisoner quarters, the bulkhead hatches were sealed so none of the compartment’s occupants could roam freely about the ship. The working parties were then led to their work sites for the day by the Troopers. Over the next half hour or so, the Troopers who were guarding the prisoners were quietly replaced by armed crew members. Once all the Troopers required for the mission to the pirate ship were replaced on guard duty by these crew members, we locked off those parts of the ship with prisoner working parties so if any trouble occurred it should we hoped, be relatively easy to contain. In the end, I came to the conclusion that this strategy would be best because it would keep the working prisoners occupied. After we had everyone where they needed to be, the Troopers formed up before marching down to the shuttle lock. I accompanied my people down to the shuttle lock to see them off.

  When we arrived at the shuttle lock I gathered all of the Troopers together before saying to them, “You are going to board a ship that may have hostiles aboard. None of your lives are worth the life of anyone over there. If you are attacked, you may use lethal force, if anyone complains later, I will take responsibility. If they surrender willingly, or if they at least put up no resistance, then bring them back here. One of our existing prisoners told me there may be some Federation citizens over there, taken as slaves from ships these pirates captured in the weeks before we arrived. I’m told by this person that any prisoners should be in the core, just forward of the main engineering spaces, at least, that is where they were when he left the ship. He thought there were perhaps eighteen or twenty of them. Our sensors detect life signs in those approximate numbers and in that approximate location. I repeat, don’t take any unnecessary chances. I want all of you back here safe. Clear the ship of personnel first. After that, if you tell me it is safe to do so, we will send some of our engineering staff over there to look for anything useful. You do not need to look for anything, you just need to find anyone on board who is still alive then bring them back here if you can do so safely. I have started people preparing the spare shuttle so it can be used if we need it. Good bye, and good luck.”

  They all snapped to attention and saluted me as I turned and left to go to the bridge. I planned to monitor the entire operation from there via the team communications channel. I’d already told the Troopers my intentions and had made a point of ordering them to tell me to shut up if I started giving unwanted orders or advice. My intention was that I would not transmit or otherwise interfere with the Troopers unless asked a direct question. The last thing I wanted was to be second guessing them or giving them useless or worse, dangerous orders or advice while they were in jeopardy. The only transmission I made during this period occurred while they were on the way to the other ship and was a simple communications check to make sure we could hear each other. After that, I sat quietly and just listened as they approached the other ship. As a safety measure, I had two sensor operators working together during this operation, one to watch the sensors focused on the pirate ship and the other to watch the longer range scans to make sure nobody could sneak up on us while we were looking the other way.

  When the shuttle arrived at the pirate ship it slowly flew around her looking for entry points, hazards, and any other likely points of interest. The pirate ship was actually marginally larger than FNS Destiny so the shuttle took its time, over an hour, on this the initial reconnaissance phase of the mission. Even though I was impatient for the Troopers to get on with it, I knew we needed to make sure the pirates hadn’t rigged some kind of trap similar to the one we’d sprung on them when they tried to board us. Thankfully, our Troopers had FNS Destiny, and her sensors, as a back up to the sensors on the shuttle, not to mention direct observation of the ship so we felt the chances of an ambush would be very low, at least, that’s what we hoped. Eventually, the shuttle notified us they were preparing to land our Troopers. They decided to land, unload a small team of Troopers at a hole in the hull that was made when one of our missiles impacted during the battle then pull back until required. The hole was located near the rear of the ship. This particular hole was chosen because it would be difficult for any live pirates to flank our Troopers as they entered. Provided they cleared the ship as they went, there should be no pirates to hit them in the rear as they progressed through the ship.

  The initial entry part of the operation was expected to be one of the most hazardous because of the debris and damage to the ships structure. From firsthand experience, we knew there were likely to be torn and jagged pieces of hull material around the entry point. Even though the Troopers were wearing armour, there were still a few soft points that could be torn or punctured by this damaged structure if the Troopers were not careful. While the suits did have some self-sealing capability in the event of a tear or puncture, there were limits. The last thing anyone wanted was to lose someone because of a stupid, and preventable, accident. As far as we could tell right then, there were only about twenty live people on the ship. The Troopers felt they should be able to carry enough equipment and ammunition to at least bring those twenty under control before bringing them back to FNS Destiny.

  The shuttle checked with us regarding the presence of life signs near the planned entry point. Our sensor operators were able to confirm there was no movement, everyone we could see was still clustered in the compartment in the core of the ship. Once they were happy with our assessment, the shuttle touched down on the pirate ships hull long enough for four Troopers to quickly exit. These four were intended to establish a beachhead and to clear and secure the immediate landing area. As soon as they were off the shuttle, it lifted before flying rapidly away from the ship in an evasive pattern for a few seconds in order to give itself some maneuvering room. Its positioning also placed it within the envelope of our point defence systems so if a missile was fired at it, our point defence would be able to give it some additional protection.

  The four Troopers left on-board the pirate paired off before meticulously searching the outer hull out to some distance from the planned point of entry into the hull. As they cleared each area, they placed unobtrusive movement sensors so if someone came that way in the future, we would know about it immediately. The idea was to instrument the outer hull to a point where no one would be able to hide and snipe at the bulk of our force once they landed. These measures also ensured nobody could sneak up behind our people after they entered the ship and this in turn removed the need to leave guards at the entry point into the ship. Among other things, they intended to clear an area beyond a functioning airlock to allow us better access into the ship as the operation progressed. We thought if we had a pressurised region from the location of the life signs to the airlock, it would make evacuation of the people we found there so much simpler.

  One feature of all ships built within the Federation was they were highly compartmentalised. Each compartment could effectively act as an airlock in its own right. Every bulkhead with an airtight hatch in it also had a means of checking the pressure on the other side of the hatch. Each compartment also had a connection to an independent air supply such as one or more pressurised bottles so once sealed, it could be slowly aired up to at least partial pressure, enough to sustain life for a while. We hoped these features were still functional and could be used to allow us to find a way into the pressurised parts of the ship without too much difficulty.

  From our initial survey, it appeared the ship had at one time been a small to medium freighter. She seemed to have been either bought, or more likely stolen by the pirates before having weapons fitted and her shields upgraded. From what our engineering staff were telling me, she would’ve been quite underpowered during a battle because when she was built she was not intended to fight. She would simply not have the power needed to run the multiple redundant systems a purpose built warship is fitted with. She would have been quite useless and a death trap i
f she went up against any kind of a decent warship. It seemed ships like this relied on unarmed or lightly armed ships for their prey.

  The Troopers completed their clearance operations on the outer hull before gathering back at the planned entry point, ready to find a way down inside the hull. Initially, they largely used the sensors built into their armour to map out the interior of the space inside the hole. After a few minutes they reported they were about four metres above the ships deck but there was a lot of debris in the way. It appeared the hole they were planning to use to gain entry, opened into one of the holds. We were receiving telemetry back from the Troopers armoured suits, so were able to see everything they saw with their sensors.

  I was looking at the screens when I noticed an anomaly. I called one of our sensor operators over to me then replayed a section of the last few minutes of sensor recordings from one of the suits, this time, we both saw it. It looked to us like a life sign had appeared briefly just forward of the Troopers position before disappearing again. The sensor operator immediately warned them about the life sign, then we sat back to see what would happen next. Now the Troopers knew somebody was running loose in the ship, they could be alert to the possibility. Two of our Troopers quietly started working their way into the hull, looking for and eventually finding a route in. They worked their way down till they were finally able to reach the deck. There was still some gravity in this area but it was highly variable between normal and none as they moved across the deck. This would have made their movement almost seem like a roller-coaster ride. We were deliberately not in communication with them just then because we did not want them distracted by our demands for information but I already knew the plan called for them to clear the area inside while the other two stayed outside to act as backup and high guard.

  At this point, it seemed Ani and Shasi who had remained on the shuttle till now, decided they needed some additional Troopers on the freighter because the shuttle rapidly moved back towards the pirate. Once again it briefly landed and another six Troopers including Ani rapidly exited before it once again pulled away back to a safe distance. As soon as these six were aboard the freighter the two who were already out on the hull started making their way inside, followed a few minutes later by another two leaving four on the outside with six either inside or working their way down into the hold. In the meantime, the first two into the ship made their way towards the ships stern so they could secure that end. This hold was close to the ships stern so there was not very much aft of it and none of that was considered habitable.

  The Troopers planned to begin by clearing and securing the rear of the hold then carefully working the way forward, clearing each section as they went. They reached the aft end of the hold then started working their way forward, sensors on full checking every hiding place they found, the overheads, around and inside the various containers remaining within the hold and checking the surrounding bulkheads and deck for other means of ingress such as hatches or ducts. They worked slowly and carefully, making sure there were no nasty surprises. During this time, we were catching further fleeting glimpses of one or more life signs somewhere forward of the hold though we still couldn’t pinpoint exactly where.

  The hatchway at the forward end of the hold was open and led to another, larger hold. Outside of the hole in the hull, this hatchway was the only way in, or out of the hold our Troopers were located in till then. By now, an additional two Troopers were in the hold to give some back up to those already inside. They wanted to clear this second hold before landing the remaining fourteen Troopers. When everyone was in position, two of the available Troopers prepared to enter the second hold. Because the hatchway into the second hold was a natural choke point, only one Trooper would be able to enter at a time. The intermittent life signs were a major concern to us because we didn’t have any idea what kind of threat they posed. Because of the intermittent nature of these life sign signals, we could not get any sort of reliable location for whoever it was beyond the fact that someone was forward of the Trooper’s current location. We thought the pirates may have someone in the hold and worried they were setting up an ambush for our people. Clearly, they appeared to have made some effort to hide their life signs though nobody had any idea how they might be doing that.

  The Troopers deployed two remote probes in an attempt to identify whether there was anyone in the hold. These probes were small, and employed optical as well one other type of sensor which depended on the specific probe configuration. The probes were quite obvious so if they were damaged or destroyed by weapons fire from within our target area then we would have an answer to our question anyway. Each Trooper carried one remote probe and there were additional spares on the shuttle so they had enough for their immediate needs. One of the probes showed someone wearing a soft suit lying in the far corner of the hold but whoever it was, did not seem to be moving. We did not know if they were trying to hide, were asleep or dead. As far as we could tell from the imagery, whoever it was, was unarmed and laying very still. The probes continued working their way around the hold without making any additional discoveries. After a thorough search with the remote, the Troopers decided it was time to make their entry into the second hold.

  They prepared themselves to make the entry, the intent being to go in as pairs. Their intention was to enter fast and low so they could minimise the chance of being hit if someone started shooting at them. The plan was for two of the Troopers to take up positions back near the hatch where they could cover the entire hold while the other two moved rapidly into a position where they were able to secure the one occupant who’d been identified within the hold so far. They followed the plan to perfection but when the two Troopers eventually reached the prone body, they quickly realised he had in fact been shot and left to die. From the desiccated state of the face they saw through the face plate, it was clear the body had been dead for at least a couple of weeks. Once they finished checking the body, the remainder of the Troopers entered the second hold and began searching it more thoroughly. Again, they carefully checked the entire hold to make sure someone could not flank them or attack from the rear. This hold had two hatches, the one they’d entered by, and another into the main part of the ship via a passageway. Once the second hold was properly secured the shuttle returned to land the remaining Troopers. The next step was to enter the body of the ship so it could be cleared compartment by compartment. Once all the Troopers and their equipment were safely on the ship, the shuttle once again pulled away to stand off while the remainder of the operation proceeded. The additional Troopers quickly made their way inside the ship, leaving no one behind. With all the movement sensors they’d installed on the external hull, we were confident the shuttle could adequately guard the Troopers rear. As the additional Troopers made their way inside, the ones in the second hold started work on the hatch into the body of the ship. They quickly discovered the atmospheric pressure on the other side was about half normal pressure. To open the hatch, they only had two options, one was to blow the door, the other to find a way to equalise the pressures on both sides of the hatch.

  The Troopers were concerned that if they blew the hatch they could depressurise a sizeable portion of the ship, possibly killing innocent people, at least if the pirates still had innocent prisoners on board. Depressurising a large section of the ship would also make it more difficult to evacuate any survivors they may find. This really only left one option, they needed to find a way to equalise the pressure in the hold with that in the passageway on the other side of the hatch. This meant they would first need to seal the second hold at the door they’d entered through, then either hope the auxiliary air supply for the hold was adequate, or find some spare air in one of the two holds that could be used. They came to the decision they should search the two holds, specifically looking for any spare air bottles that may be stored in either of them.

  As they searched, the Troopers were still picking up intermittent life signs, now forward and slightly inboard of their curren
t position. It seemed that as the Troopers moved closer to whoever was hiding, their shielding became less effective. It was clear to us; someone was trying to hide. We still didn’t know whether they were hostile or not so the Troopers needed to be careful till they were able to neutralise the threat. The Troopers carefully searched and catalogued the contents of the two holds during their search for spare air tanks. Among other things, they found a container full of spare air bottles in the first hold they’d entered so they moved it, one bottle at a time into the second hold for later use. Once all the air was transferred, they closed and sealed the hatch, then tried bleeding air in from the auxiliary tanks for the hold. These tanks were unfortunately very nearly exhausted so did not add anything like enough pressure to equalise the pressure with the passageway on the other side of the hatch. Instead, the Troopers cracked the valve on one of the spare air bottles. This improved matters quite significantly but was still not quite enough. They then cracked the valve on a second bottle and this was enough to bring the hold to a point where the pressures were equalised. Now the pressures on both sides of the hatch were close to equal, they were able to vent between the two compartments so they could open the hatch.