by R. E. Graham
Hern began to follow everyone else, but Mikhail held up his hand to stop him.
“I want to speak with you. Oh, and you too Jax,” Lord Onyx said just as the overrider was leaving as well.
“Hern, I want you to lead a special strike team wherever Redbeard is located when we arrive.”
“Lord?” the bodyguard said confused by the order.
“Jax recovered three Centurion power armor suits on Destiny. I want you to spend the next two rotations learning everything you can about them. Run every drill you need to, do whatever it takes to get the basics down.”
Hern grinned from ear to ear. “I can do that.”
“Oh, and you need to quickly find two others to be on the assault team with you,” Lord Onyx said as he smiled due to the infectious look on his old shipmate’s face.
“Consider it done.” Just as quickly as the joy of being able to operate one of the deadliest power armors ever designed by the Republic, it faded as reality kicked in. “But what about your security?”
Mikhail waved away the concern. “I still have Jole and Dirk to watch over me. If they alternate shifts it should be fine. Plus, the entire base is on high alert after that bastard tried to kill me.”
“Alright. Let me know if they aren’t doing a job though,” Hern said very seriously.
“I will. Now get out of here. Get in some practice while you can. We have no idea what to expect that Redbeard will throw at us. Our goal is to hit him so hard and so fast that he won’t be ready. Then…then I am going to cut his head from his body.”
Chapter 19
Cycle: 434 Month: 4 Day: 1
Outer Rim Colonial Alliance Space
Planet: Ko’Bac
Location: Aboard the Midnight
The next two rotations had been some of the busiest condensed time of Mikhail's life. Captain Marcos wasn't real keen on going back to Noire but reluctantly agreed once he realized that he would be in a solid position to help establish the operations through his ship as its transport off-world.
Lord Onyx had spoken with each captain individually once more to hear their true thoughts, and while each echoed their earlier support, they shared that they felt that this mission was being a little too hasty. That wasn't how Mikhail saw it though. He knew that if Redbeard had more time, then that was going to make everything that much harder for them later on.
“Soon you will command two of the seats of power within the Five Skulls,” the voice whispered into his mind.
While he hadn’t slept much in the last forty-eight hours, that voice continued to speak to him sporadically. The being didn’t appear before him at any point, but Mikhail sensed that it was always near. Just outside of his view. As if it was just passed the corner of his eye, never fully in view.
Either way, he racked it up to stress. So much had happened in such a short amount of time that he figured it was how his brain was trying to cope. At least, that is what he saw on a holoshow cycles ago from some doctor with a crazy mustache.
Now was not the time to focus on crazy dreams and voices. Capturing the transport was the critical piece of their plan. While they knew that having their ships in orbit of Ko'Bac wouldn't raise any immediate red flags with the planetary government, they needed to be swift. Ensuring the vessel was not at all harmed on its exterior meant they had a solid chance of making it to Frost's surface.
“I’m surprised you were able to talk Rhonda into staying on Ko’Bac so easily,” Jax joked from across the bridge.
Mikhail chuckled. "Truthfully it wasn't easy. Do you know that she and I had been on close to four dozen runs off of Destiny?"
“Was it that many? Wow, the time really did fly by.”
“Yeah…it did,” Mikhail said as his mind wandered to thoughts of his deceased wife and son.
Their loving faces replayed just as the voice shook him out of it. “Untold power will soon be yours. All you must do is strike down Redbeard.”
“Uh lord, is something wrong?” the overrider asked as Mikhail’s face looked incredibly somber despite his laughter from moments ago.
“Huh? Oh, no. Was just thinking about somethin’. Are you sure our informant is going to come through?”
“He better. I promised him an awful lot of money.”
Per the pirate lord's orders to Jax, the overrider was not to share the name of the spy within Ruby so that no one else running counterintelligence for Redbeard could spread the word.
“I’m not concerned with money. Only in returning the favor for what was done to me and mine,” Lord Onyx said as he turned to face the main viewscreen that displayed Ko’Bac from a great distance.
The Onyx fleet had been positioned far enough away from the planet to not raise anyone’s suspicions but remained near to quickly strike once they located a suitable prey.
Deimos sat in his captain's chair and listened carefully to the conversation between Jax and Mikhail. His heart troubled him every time he thought about his brother's life hanging in the balance, but he felt powerless. This was a situation that was a loss for him on either side. Losing his honor as a man and raider easily meant that if he sided with Redbeard that he would be seen as a coward. Even if he left Onyx to join the other pirate branch, his past would follow him.
That was more than he could bear to live through, but it didn't make his decision to fight alongside Mikhail any easier. He tried to keep his mind focused on the task ahead as to avoid any recollections of happy memories with his brother from when they were younger. A piece of him deep down hoped that Redbeard would somehow escape the assault, but he knew that was unlikely.
The sudden ringing sound coming from the weapon station caught the Captain’s attention.
“Lord, we have a ship breaking through the atmosphere that meets your criteria,” Lamen Ame said loudly.
“Put it on screen!” Mikhail said as he headed over to the holotable.
The ship's main gunner typed feverishly on his screens to pull up identification of the vessel and flung it over to the central projector.
“Ship’s ID is comin’ up as the “Ignis” sir. It’s a medium class freighter. Has lots of storage capacity,” Lamen said as he read over the data shown in front of him.
The pirate lord watched as the Ignis cleared Ko’Bac and was heading into orbit. It wasn’t the prettiest looking ship, but the gunner was correct, it looked to have a large amount of storage room aboard the spacecraft.
“Yeah, I think that can work,” he mumbled to himself. Glancing over to Deimos he nodded once.
The Captain sprang to his feet and began barking orders. “Signal to the fleet to engage the target. Lamen, fire one overrider. Jax, trigger the jammer. Get us up close!” he ordered to the bridge crew.
As the targeted ship realized it was being attacked it began to break off toward its port side. The overrider missile corkscrewed through space as it closed the vast distance rapidly.
Aboard the Ignis, her captain barked orders to his crew. “Prepare to hop!”
The HOP drive began to charge just as the pirate missile exploded just off its aft, engulfing the ship in a crippling electromagnetic pulse. As the Ignis started drift helplessly through space, the Onyx fleet closed in.
Mikhail always hated this part. Back when he was just a simple captain, the pirate lord had used the help of overrider projectiles to disable his prey. The problem was that you always had to be concerned that they would be back online before you were able to board or subdue your target.
He thought of the last time he ordered such an attack to take place on the Senator’s ship in the asteroid field.
We are on this course right now because of directly what happened in that raid. Will things change forever again after today?
“Deimos,” Mikhail said as he shook himself from his deep inner thoughts.
“Yes, Lord?” the Captain said with a neutral tone.
“I want to broadcast a message to the Ignis. Try to keep this as peaceful as it can be.”
Deimos nodded to Sandy Uma, the replacement to Gyy after his death as the Midnight’s communication officer. She set the bridge’s microphone to transmit across all open frequencies.
“When you’re ready, Lord.”
“This is Lord Mikhail Tarvus of Onyx.” It still felt strange to refer to himself as a lord.
Aboard the helpless ship, the crew listened intently as the broadcast came through the ship's speakers.
“We are going to board your ship in the next few minutes. I know it may look the contrary, but we mean you no harm.”
The Ignis’ Captain spat on the deck near his boot. “No harm? Then why in blazes would they disable us?”
“I require the use of your ship but give you my word that if your people cooperate that you will all be freed. Have your entire crew assemble on the bridge and I will be over there soon to speak with you peacefully. Make the right choice Captain.”
Just as the connection was cut, the Ignis’ commanding officer pounded his fist angrily on his chair’s arm.
The Fini was the first of the Onyx ships to come within accurate weapons range of the Ignis.
“Fire a stream across their nose,” Captain Korge said as she smugly bounced her black leather boot that rested atop her left knee.
A short burst of laser bolts from the pirate transport ship zipped passed the powered down vessel startling some of her crew.
One by one the Onyx ships closed into close range and then the Midnight moved in. The large Oxen transport was much bigger than the Ignis, but it surely would still fill their needs for this particular mission.
As the Midnight’s personnel tube extended and made contact with the other ship the boarding party stood by the airlock with rifles ready.
Hernando Troy stepped up, the heavy armored boots of his Centurion power armor clanking on the metal floor. He flexed his right hand before gripping the helmet beneath his left arm. The other pirates looked on with a bit of amazement as the helmet slid on snuggly then locked to the rest of the power armor.
“We do just like the Lord said. No shootin’ unless you get shot at first. And no one better harm the ship’s Captain or you deal with me,” Hern said over his external speakers.
The strike team leader looked at the men and women in front of him. They each nodded in agreement and then readied themselves for the coming assault. Boarding a ship was incredibly dangerous because you never knew what you were walking to. Not to mention, with only one way into another ship it could be exceptionally deadly as the defenders could hold strategic firing points and slaughter a group of invaders in seconds.
After convincing Mikhail that he was ready to use the suit in combat, Hern and the other two members of his team would be the first to board the Ignis before the other raiders would join them. This allowed them actual experience moving about an unknown interior and would better prepare them in use against Redbeard’s men.
Hern looked to his right where Ling and a man only known as Scrub stood by in their own set of armor. They each had been chosen because they claimed to have extensive experience in the Republic’s military. Mikhail had been quick to ask if they were so skilled why they were in Onyx, but the ex-gunner believed they could do the job after seeing them practice in the Centurion suits.
Scrub gave an armored thumbs up to his team leader, and Hern nodded. Ling bounced up and down to get a feel for the power armor. Even though they had logged hours of training, the suits still felt foreign.
“Connection made!” one of the other boarding pirates exclaimed.
The team of Centurions entered the tube, their boots switched over to be magnetized, and they were able to stably walk across the gantry. A pirate wearing a chest plate moved up from behind them and connected his overriding device to hack the door's security measures.
Out in space the Fini and Kilroy positioned themselves to be clearly visible to anyone looking out one of the Ignis’ thick windows. The Onyx ships wanted to make it extremely clear there was no point in resisting.
“I got it,” the overrider said to Hern.
“Let’s pop the seal and get this taken care of,” the strike team leader said to his men.
The door hissed then followed by a clicking sound slowly opened. Hern’s suit scanned for threats but didn’t detect any nearby life signs.
“So far so good,” he said to the bridge of the Midnight.
Mikhail stood on the bridge and tapped his right foot without thinking. Deimos noticed the nervous twitch but turned his attention back to watching the Ignis for any sort of activity from the outside.
The Centurion team continued through the ship and headed for the bridge.
“So far no contacts,” the strike team leader said gratefully.
Hern weaved his way through the corridors following a map the overrider had flung to him. They came to an open blast door and the lead pirate stepped through with ease. Despite the practice he had made from the past two rotations, Scrub still was getting used to the Centurion’s overall size and smacked his sturdy helmet against the doorway with a heavy donk!
Ling did his best not to laugh at his fellow raider and instead cleared his throat. “You okay Scrub?”
“Yow! Yeah, just rattling my brain in here. No biggie.”
“Cut the chatter!” Hern ordered.
“Sorry Boss,” Scrub said as he lowered his armored head and stepped through the doorway with Ling close behind.
The Ignis’ thirteen crew members waited anxiously within the bridge. Overall the mood was stressed, and several of the team shouted at one another while one man racked a rifle he carried.
“Stand down,” the Captain yelled at the gunman. “There’s no point in fighting if we have a chance.”
“How do we know they won’t just kill us and take our ship anyhow?” the other man said frantically. “I’m not goin’ down without a fight.”
“You would endanger the rest of us by throwing away your life!”
A heavy knocking sound from the main door of the bridge startled the waiting crew. One of the women gasped loudly before other shipmates yelled at her to calm down.
The armed crewman raised his weapon just as the door opened and Hern stepped in. Bullets ricocheted off of the power armor like pebbles thrown at a tank.
Several of the crew ducked for cover as the bullets bounced around the bridge. One of the team was hit in the stomach while another got shot in her shoulder.
The strike team leader raised his right arm which boasted a mini focus beam, powerful enough to slice deep through the thickest of mech armor. Before boarding the Ignis, Hern and his men had lowered the strength of their beam guns to ten percent. It was more than needed to burn through a human's flesh but weak enough to merely scorch metal as to not shoot a hole through the ship's hull.
Hern fired one shot, and it melted through the defender's face and burned his arm. He crumpled to the floor, instantly dead.
The Captain stretched out his arms to the three Centurions as Ling and Scrub also entered the bridge. "Woah now, no one else is gonna fight back. He was unreasonable."
“The bridge is secured,” Hern said over his radio as he turned to face the Ignis’ remaining crew.
Scrub and Ling aimed their weapons and spread out.
The Captain looked back and forth between the three invaders unsure of which was in charge. “Please, we will cooperate.”
“My Lord is preparing to board, Captain. He better not encounter any other shooters or the rest of you will be dealt with,” Hern said sternly to the group.
"No, no…nobody is going to be doing any more shooting," the Captain said as he half looked back to his people.
While the Centurions held the bridge, the rest of the boarding party spread out through the Ignis and made sure it was safe. Once they gave the all clear signal to the Midnight Mikhail, and his own team entered the captured ship through the tube.
The Captain of the Ignis stood up straighter when he saw Mikhail. Something about the way he carried hims
elf displayed his authority among the other pirates.
“I am Lord Mikhail,” the pirate leader said as he addressed the prisoners.
“I am Captain Joe Nero,” the commanding officer said cautiously.
Mikhail smelled a burnt smell in the air then spotted the dead man across the room and the rifle lying beside him. “Are the rest of your people dangerous as well, Captain?”
Nero again held up his hands. “You boarded my ship. Not everyone is as willing to trust their lives in the hands of pirates…Lord,” the Captain made sure to add the lead pirate’s rank before he was Finished speaking.
“That is to be expected, but as I said, if you all cooperate there will be nothing to fear from us,” the pirate lord said as he strolled up to Nero.
He noticed that several other of the crew were wounded and he motioned with his head toward them as he looked back to the Captain. “We will tend to your injured as long as you continue to cooperate.”
“I feel as though we have no other choice,” Nero said pitifully.
Mikhail smacked his lips then crossed his arms. “True, you don’t. We need your ship for a short time, then you will be free to go.”
The Captain didn’t understand the entire series of events that were playing out. His eyes squinted as he attempted to process the pirate lord’s words. “You mean you won’t be stealin’ my ship?”
“As I said. Once we are done with it, you, your crew, and the Ignis are free to go.”
Everything Nero heard growing up about pirates had only been confirmed through his runs across the stars. He knew that one-day Onyx could come knocking, but the payment for delivering goods to Ko'Bac had been too good to pass up. Now here he was with the pirate lord himself standing on his bridge telling him that he will be released, it went against every encounter with pirates he had ever heard before. However, there weren't many other options on the table to discuss.
Mikhail stretched out his hand to the other man.
