Operation: Pirates vs Drones

by J. L. Hendricks

  The Captain came prepared. You don’t take a cutlass to a drone battle without some backup. “Stand back everyone, watch yer backside!” The Captain took a few steps to the rear of the compartment they were in and threw his EMP grenade at the center of the oncoming death dealers.

  A second bright, white light emanated from the middle of the room and a sizzling sound was heard and felt, then nothing. Total and complete blackness. The only light they had was coming from the Harvester.

  “Shiver me timbers! You took out our ship too, Captain!” Wyko yelled from his hiding spot behind a crate in the corner.

  The mini EMP had knocked out all power to the drones, essentially killing them, but it also cut power to the Black Pearl. Their emergency generator kicked in just as they started to float due to the loss of power to the gravity generator.

  The Captain fell down to his knees and exclaimed, “Sink Me! We don’t have enough spare parts to get our ship moving again.”

  “Um, Cap’n?” Deegan shuffled his way to the spot he thought was where his Captain sat. He misjudged and stepped on the Captain’s hand.

  “Son of a biscuit eater! Why’d ye go and do that fer?” The Captain shook his hand out and felt his bones to make sure there wasn’t anything wrong with the hand. The boots his men wore could be pretty dangerous to fingers, what with their spikes set in a few carefully placed spots and all.

  The captain looked to the entrance of his ship. The boarding party had sealed the tube enough that they weren’t losing too much oxygen, but there were some tiny holes in the tube they used to board the ship. Those holes were leaking their precious air. The Captain could see it leaving his ship and also hear the high pitched squeal as their depleting air left them in danger of suffocating.

  Currently, the boarding tube was only open on their end. The drones were careful not to open up a pressurized ship attached to a non-pressurized ship. The Captain momentarily wondered if the Mechanurge had joined the universe in the gaming scenarios. The only reason to keep the pirate ship from depressurizing and expelling all life forms, was if they had a bonus goal to keep the humans alive long enough to feed them into the bio forges. Or a desire to ensure the pirates experienced a level of sheer terror and fear that this attack would invoke for as long as possible. The Captain thought it odd that a group of Awakened robots would have such emotions.

  He was rather surprised they even bothered trying to seal the tube. It would have been more expedient to allow the pressurized ship to be exposed to the vacuum of space. The exposure to space wouldn’t have hurt the Mechanurge in the least bit. The Black Pearl was another issue altogether.

  Had they just blown the door open the contents of most of the ship would have been sucked out into space, which included all human life. It would have made the Mechanurge’s mission quick and simple.

  Now, with his systems down, he needed to get that seal perfect. Or get his ship’s systems up and running again. First, he needed the oxygen scrubbers back online.

  “Rego, where ye be, mate? I need ye to fix the oxygen pumps and scrubbers.” No one answered the Captain.

  Wyko found a light stick and turned it on. It didn’t produce much more than a couple of lumens, but it was enough to see a rough outline of the loading bay and all of the dead Awakened at their feet. Most had just fallen down like they were dropped from 20 meters high. You could see the crew’s handy work on some of the mechanized killers.

  Several of the heads had been cut clean off the bodies of the drones. One was even missing its right arm. Two more lay in what appeared to be a pool of their own blood in this dark room. But, was most likely lubrication fluid.

  “Where’s Rego?” The Captain called again and slowly made his way around the room. “That lily-livered sissy! Did anyone see him fighting?”

  He looked at one outline of a man who shook his head and then heard a few grunted “No’s.” “Alright, first we need to find out how we’re going to get that seal fixed. Then we have to figure out what on our ship needs fixin. Wyko, take a team with ye to engineering and see what’s needed. Deegan, you’re up. Get that seal fixed, and find a way to get the outer door back on airtight. I don’t care if ye have to weld the thing back on. We need to be space worthy long enough to get to a friendly port.”

  The Captain started to walk further into his ship, but stopped before leaving the bay, “Ye might want to grab a breathing rig since ye’ll be right next to the holes in the Mechanurge’s gangplank.” The Captain gave out some more orders then he went to see how many breathing masks they had that actually worked. He made a mental note to add them to the top of his to do list. Without oxygen, none of the other repairs would matter.

  Deegan looked at the hole leading into the belly of the whale and shivered involuntarily as he wondered what he would do if more drones came to their ship before he could get that fixed. He also wondered why more hadn’t come yet.

  Chapter 11

  Throd pressed the last button on the cargo container’s control panel, and it burst open with explosive force. The side panels shot away and plowed through the drones flanking Throd. One group was carried out through the hole in the side of the Harvester, and tumbled into the void. The others shot across the room and into the wall with such force their limbs and heads popped from their torsos in sparkling showers. The container’s lid flipped up and smashed into another group, driving them into the floor.

  A dull white glow emanated from the metal tube inside the container, and Throd stepped back. This thing was his ally, but it was cranky as hell when it first woke up. “Sic ‘em, boy!” Throd shouted into his comms unit.

  F3L1N unfolded like the universe’s deadliest origami. The cat-like drone lashed out with its front claws, shredding through a pair of Awakened with terrifying ease. It spun on its back legs, and ripped the head from another Awakened before it could unleash a salvo of explosive rounds. It roared a challenge at the rest of the drones, then reared up to expose a glowing crystalline cylinder in its belly.

  Skritch waved at Throd from inside her pod. “About time you woke me up, big guy. I don’t think I’m going to need to sleep for another week.”

  The Operator unloaded into a new group of Awakened, then ran for the Harvester’s engines. “No time to talk, little girl, keep these tin cans off me while I finish the job.”

  Throd vaulted onto the engine supports. A cold sweat erupted across his forehead and upper lip, and a fist of dread coiled in his guts. It’d been more than a decade since the last time he’d been aboard a Harvester, and he’d thought he was over the panic. But this close to the engines, to the place where he’d been chained while the transmogrifiers went to work replacing his flesh with metal, it all came rushing back.

  Sounds of battle, muted by the thin atmosphere inside the ship, plucked at the edges of his attention. He had to do something, but he couldn’t remember what. The memories were too vivid, they pushed the rest of his thoughts to the sidelines and left him shaking and paralyzed with fear. What if he couldn’t do this? What if they captured him again?

  The power core glowed like a miniature sun, its heat and fury contained by a magnetic field. Throd remembered trying to reach another power core. Trying to put his head through the containment field to end the pain. Trying to destroy what he’d become.

  A young woman’s high-pitched voice crackled in his ear. “It’s getting a little crowded in here, big guy. We need to scoot.”

  Time collapsed, and Throd shook his head. He wasn’t that scared man anymore. He wasn’t alone. He had a family now, and they depended on him. Dragora’s core had been damaged in their flight from Rivicle Base, and without a new one the outfit would be stranded. That’s why he was here. To save them all. Getting the extra points and a possible level up didn’t hurt either.

  He didn’t give the fear another chance to seize him. Throd shoved his cybernetic hand down into the motor’s primary cylinder, and yanked the core containment unit free.

  The core blazed even brighter, wh
ile the rest of the ship went dark. Without its core, the Harvester was a lifeless hulk, and the Awakened within it were disconnected and confused. They were a hive mind, and Throd had just killed the Queen.

  In the back of his helmet, he heard a soft bell ringing. It signaled his completion of the objectives and bonuses. He just hoped he lived to complete the entire scenario.

  He jumped off the raised support and sprinted toward Skritch and the drone wrapped around her. “Got it! Let’s go.”

  F3L1N whirled to follow Throd through the hole in the Harvester’s side. Drones fired at them as they leaped into the void, but the Awakened were shocked and in disarray from the disruption to the Harvester. Their shots were wide and winding down. In a few more minutes, Throd knew they would collapse, their consciousness scattered.

  Unfortunately, he didn’t have a few minutes to wait for them to die. The oxygen meter in the corner of his AR display flashed red. He didn’t have more than 30 seconds.

  He locked one arm around F3L1N’s neck, and hung on. They tumbled through the void, slowly rotating as they drifted past the Black Pearl. Throd searched the starscape, but Dragora was nowhere in sight. If her engines had failed entirely, or Heck miscalculated their position, he and Skritch were about to die.

  And then, Skritch’s voice burst through the comms channel. “There!”

  The sleek ship glided toward them, cargo arm extended. Throd let out a sigh of relief, and squeezed the drone’s neck affectionately. He waved the power core overhead, and waited for his family to pick him up.

  ..::..::..||..::..::..//\..::..::..||..::..::..

  SCENARIO: HARDENED TARGET, MATERIAL LARCENY - COMPLETE

  OBJECTIVE 1: Neutralize enemy ship (1200 points) - COMPLETE

  OBJECTIVE 2: Obtain power core (1500 points) - COMPLETE

  BONUS 1: Ensure Pirates engage enemy drones (500 points) - BONUS AWARDED

  BONUS 2: Smuggle extra combatants onboard without being detected (500 points) - BONUS AWARDED

  SCENARIO REWARD: 10,000 credit units (conversion rates apply)

  EXPENSES COVERED: To 5,000 credit units (ammunition and fuel reimbursed separately to 1,000 credit units)

  CALCULATING SKILL AWARDS…

  EXTRAVEHICULAR MANEUVERS: +1

  BLUFF: +1

  HEAVY WEAPONS: +1

  Congratulations! Your rating has improved. You are now a Level 5 Operator.

  Your new level entitles you to the following:

  1 software upgrade (Class IV or lower)

  1 hardware implant (Class II or lower)

  CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THIS SCENARIO!

  COLLECT SCENARIO REWARD AND SUBMIT EXPENSE REPORT AT ANY UMBRA TERMINAL

  ..::..::..||..::..::..//\..::..::..||..::..::..

  Chapter 12

  What little light they had from the Harvester died out and no one knew what was coming. Deegan yelled out, “What was that?”

  The Captain wondered what Throd was up to. He knew the Operator was taking something from the ship, but to see the power go out could only mean one thing. He took their frackin’ power core! “Sneaky little scurvy dog! I should’ve thought of that first!” A wry smile started to cross his face when he thought about what was waiting for him on the other side of the patchy gangplank.

  “Deegan, get that seal fixed NOW! It’s time we act like the Scourge of the Seven Galaxies that we be. I want a boarding party ready to go across and pillage and plunder anything and everything not bolted down.” The Captain went to find himself a boarding party.

  “Rego! REGO! Get your Scallywagging backside out here now! I have an assignment for you!” The Captain yelled as loud as he could, then under his breath he said, “One that hopefully leaves you as shark bait.”

  Rego presented himself with a cannon rifle and a full space suit. He was ready to defend himself. Gore grunted when he saw Rego, “Figures.” Whether Rego knew what the Captain had in mind, or if he had his own plans, wasn’t known yet. But the Captain didn’t mind one bit. He was going to kill two birds with one stone, the stone being the Harvester ship, of course.

  “Alright men, we have a list of what’s needed to fix me ship. No one can go anywhere until the Pearl is up and running again. That Harvester…” the Captain pointed across the bay to the entrance into the belly of the beast. “Has everything we need, and then some. But don’t take too long grabbin’ booty, we don’t know if there be ‘nother nearby or not.”

  “If ye be on the engineering team, grab what ye need then get back here and fix our Pearl. Everyone else, ye gots an hour to secure as much plunder as ye can and get back here.” The Captain rubbed his hands in anticipation of the advanced tech he would be able to steal and sell on the downworlder markets. Shoot, he might even be able to sell on the legitimate ones too. Mechanurge tech was some of the most advanced in five quadrants. His ship was getting the overhaul she desperately needed when they made it back to a pirate friendly port.

  “Rego, ye be with me. I have a particular piece of bounty I need ye help with.” He nodded to the mutinous tar standing next to him.

  “What ye have in mind, Cap’n?” Rego cautiously asked.

  “We need to get our hands on their spare power core. That piece of tech would power the Black Pearl for the next one hundred years at full power, and then some!” An evil grin spread across Gore’s face. With all of the scars, it made him look like a monster instead of a pirate. “Then we could assimilate some of their weapons on our ship. Maybe even a gravitic funnel or a smart grapnel.” The Captain slapped Rego on the back as he made his way to enter the darkened enemy ship.

  “Right behind ye Cap’n. Can we get one of their pulse cannons too?” Rego confidently followed his Captain.

  “If ye can carry it, we be taking it!” Gore replied.

  Everyone scurried off to do their assigned task. The general feeling of the crew was that of excitement and victory. They knew that the drones were worker bees tied to the hive mind of the ship and with the ship down, they were down as well. For the next hour all of the pirates worked hard to get the Black Pearl able to run again.

  “Cap’n, what ‘bout the engine room? Would they hold a back-up power cell there?” Rego was really into his assignment. He always did enjoy the pillage and plunder part of his job. Fighting was something he almost always shied away from, unless it involved stabbing someone in the back, just like with the Mechanurge attack.

  “I’d think they’d have it in a storage room. Maybe one off the side of the engine room.” The Captain led them down a walkway to what he hoped was the Harvesters engine room.

  It was confirmed as they passed several dead drone carcasses with scorch marks lying about their path. “I’d say the Operator was here, wouldn’t you Rego?”

  Rego laughed in his suit, which sounded more like a pig oinking in space than a pirate laughing inside a helmet. “Yup, Cap’n. That Operator sure knows how to throw a party!”

  “Will ye be sharing your grog with ‘em when we get back to port?” The Captain shook his head when he realized his mutinous scallywag had decided he liked the Operator responsible for their current situation.

  “Nah, I don’t share me grog with anyone, not even the wenches. They has ta buys their own.”

  “Such a gentleman,” the Captain stated as he led them into what appeared to be the dead engineering section. “Yup, Throd was here alright. I wonder where he went to now? I don’t want to leave ‘em behind again. He never should’n’of been left on that mining moon.” The Captain surveyed his surroundings and noticed that the crate had been opened and whatever was inside was now gone.

  After walking around the room, he discovered a back door that led to a supply room. Inside that room was pay dirt! They were going to need multiple trips back to the ship if he wanted all of the booty in that room.

  “Cap’n! Look what I found!” Rego had a giant grin on his face as he pulled what appeared to be an engineer’s wagon into the room. It was a cart on wheels that
was three levels high and the bottom level had almost 25 centimeter side panels. It was perfect for carrying small items and keeping them from falling out, while the top two racks could hold bigger items.

  “Good job, let’s get this power core on the top and fill up them other levels with everything we can. I’ll push it back while you follow up with anything larger you can carry.” The Captain got to work loading up all of the goodies onto the cart.

  When they got back to the gangplank connecting the two ships, they had to wait inside a confined space as the system worked to pressurize the boarding tube. They couldn’t just walk back and forth, since one ship wasn’t pressurized. It was tedious and the Captain snarled when he watched Rego counting the items on the cart during the pressurization precedures.

  They made three trips back and forth with all of the engineering parts and tools they could carry. After unloading their third full cart, the Captain said he would stay back and help to get the loading bay doors fixed.

  “Sure thing Cap’n!” Rego was focused on pillaging and didn’t notice that he was the only one sent back inside the Harvester.

  “Deegan, can we use any of these drones for scrap metal?” The Captain scratched his head as he scanned the floor of his loading bay. The lights were back on and oxygen seemed to be flowing normally again.

  “Cap’n, I wouldn’t keep ‘em. Ye never know when we might run close enough to a Harvester ‘n these guys could wake up.” Deegan looked at the currently dead drones and his skin began to crawl as he remembered what it looked like to watch one of his shipmates get torn limb from limb less than two hours before.

  “Right, toss ‘em all back inside their ship and seal us up. We need to be get’n outta here before one of their sister ships comes looking for ‘em.” The Captain picked up one of the drone heads and examined it. “Too bad, they would’ve made great trophy’s.”

  “Ye could probly keep that one, sir. It’s dead. Just don’t be keeping any that are still in one piece.” Deegan started throwing the carcasses of the Mechanurge drones back into their Harvester ship pressurization chamber.