All That Glitters Ch. 23

Jean Jacques Aucoin, Handren Villa, New Carthage, New Hadria

Lt. Marneau had set the ship down on the landing pad and let his bosses out, swiftly sealing the ship afterwards as per his instructions.

He had the Comms O open the channel watching and listening in surreptitiously to the conversations from the comps of the trio. They heard the response of the guards who had been sent to enter the ship and laughed.

"OK. Weapons, take a good look around and see what you can see," Marneau began. "Use the telemetry from our descent to find the locations of those turrets that are currently not in our line-of-sight. As soon as we raise up any, I want to be able to take them out if necessary.

"Comms, make sure we have a good lock on our trio's comps, we lose that, we go active," he finished to a chorus of Aye, Sirs!

"Sir, Weapons, only two of the turrets are currently in our line-of-sight and I think only one of them can actually fire on us in this location. Pretty poor planning on their part if you ask me," Weapons came back a few moments later.

"You have the plot for the other weapons?" Marneau asked.

"Aye, sir, already in the weapons computer."

"Wait, zoom in on these doors," Marneau ordered. "I want to plot the location of those hinges, that door just doesn't sound right."

"Sir, Tac O, those doors have a thin veneer of wood, but I'm detecting hull plating underneath it. It could be difficult to take out those doors."

"Options?" Marneau asked.

"If we take out the hinges, the door should just fall without their support," the Tac O replied. "Should only take one or two rounds per hinge to knock them out if we plot it right, sir."

"Make the plot, I want to be able to act quickly if the need arises," Marneau said.

"OK, we have a direct line of sight on the inner doors," said the Weapons O when the outer doors stood open. "Once again, piss poor planning, they should never have been inline."

"This villa was probably originally built during an extended time of peace," Marneau surmised. "They will get a lesson in real world tactics if they try anything stupid."

Marneau's comment garnered another chorus of Aye, Sirs! And much laughter from the bridge crew.

"Sir, plot complete," came from the Weapons O a few minutes later.

"Thank-you, Weapons. Pilot, Nav O, do you have plots out of here for us?"

"Aye, sir, coming up on your monitor now," the Nav O reported. "We have three options, sir. The first is for a hopefully gradual ascent back to the ship under peaceful conditions, the second is runaway under fire, and the third is for us to attack this shithole before we leave."

"I like the last option best, sir," the Pilot put his opinion out.

"Well, hopefully the first will be our option, but from what I have seen so far on the station, and heard about the Handren Company, I doubt we will be given that one," Marneau stated. He checked the tracts for the three options and fed them back to Nav and the Pilot. "Set them up, ready to use as I call them, I will just say one, two, or three for options and leave the rest to you.

"Same for Weapons, though we have only one option there, to take out those Mk-48's before they take us out," he finished.

The crew went about their business listening to the ongoing dinner when they got their first inkling of problems.

"You should have taken up my Lord's offer to sit at the table," they heard the strangers voice over the comp. "Now you have insulted him. I think you need to be taught a lesson and I challenge you to a duel for my Lord's honour."

"You speak of honour and name your Lord all in the same sentence?" Kim's snarl came through the link.

"I like the way that girl talks," Weapons said to the bridge.

"Shit!" Marneau cursed. "I think its going to be option three on all counts, people. Set up the plots and stand-bye."

"Sir, we have a lot of guards coming out the small doors in the wall over there," the Tac O informed Marneau.

The Lieutenant turned to the man on his right, a sergeant of Marines in PSS. "Get them ready," he ordered.

The Sergeant spoke briefly into his comp and nodded to Marneau.

"Sir! We've just lost the link!" Comms said.

"Go! Go! Go!" Marneau yelled. "Take out the turrets in order of highest threat to us, NOW!"

Weapons activated the turret and swung it around to take out the Mk-48 turret that could engage them. A brief two-second burst literally obliterated it. The guards that had been approaching the ship, suddenly turned and ran away as the hatch opened and a dozen Marines in Combat EVA jumped to the ground and ran toward the big doors in the outer wall.

Weapons swung onto the second Mk-48 turret and took it out just as swiftly. The guns then engaged the door hinges, two rounds at each sufficient to blow the hinges apart. Just as predicted, when the support was taken away, the door fell forward, just as the Marines came up to them.

Weapons realigned and fired at the inner doors, which were not armoured and blew inwards into the villa, the Marines swiftly following behind, the servo motors on their suits giving them strength and speed.

They rushed into the dinning hall and were swiftly engaged by the guards inside, whom they quickly put down despite their tenacity. The trio they had been sent to retrieve joined them, their PSS activated. Once they were inside the shield of Marines, they turned and ran for the ship. It was one hundred meters from the villa entrance to the doors of the outer wall and a further two hundred meters to the ship. The group made the distance in record time, the Marines helping those who did not have the support of exoskeletons.

The team swiftly boarded the ship, which lifted almost immediately, rising only far enough to gain line of sight on several turrets, which were swiftly destroyed with 50mm fire.

Once again, they lifted a few more meters attempting to gain line-of-sight on the other enemy turrets as they could not lift higher into the atmosphere without taking them out or risk being destroyed on the ascent.

The Pilot had to move the ship left and right to allow line-of-sight for the final turrets before all eight were knocked out.

The ship slid upward smoothly, quickly gaining speed, the pilot not giving a damn about sonic boom protocols.

Planetary Control came over the Guard Channel, which all ships in system had to listen to, and threatened them with destruction if they did not set back down on the planet. The Pilot just pushed the throttle forward a little more, moving faster as more and more of the planet's atmosphere was below them instead of above them.

Three minutes later they were in space, and ships of the local defence fleet attempted to engage them, to no avail. The Aucoin was a Valour Class ship and could maneuver much better than the defenders.

"Sir, Comms, I'm getting a report from The Wanderer. The shuttle at the station has been attacked and several people have been seriously wounded. It appears that the Captain was knocked out and captured. The ship is advising us not to attempt to board her but to meet her at the rendezvous point."

"Shit," Marneau and Raymond said simultaneously, Raymond having just entered the bridge.

"Comms, give me The Wanderer, please," Raymond ordered.

"Comms, to you, sir," Comms reported.

"Wanderer, this is Raijin," Raymond said quietly over the link. "We are safe and heading away from the planet, but we had to kick serious butt during an obvious kidnapping attempt. We left the villa in ruins. Options on the Captain? Over."

"Aucoin this is Clone, we have no options at this time," The ship replied. "The shuttle barely got out of the bay with the remainder of the team onboard, the customs request was a setup, but we had our own surprises for them.

"The shuttle has just been taken on board, I understand that we have four critically injured and three with lesser injuries. Doc is working on them now. Local defence force is attempting to attack us to prevent 'the escape of criminals'. Any suggestions? Over."

"Clone this is Raijin, you have weapons free ONLY on those vessels attempting to engage you," Raymond returned. "Make sure they understand what attacking The Wanderer means. Send a notice to Handren Station, we intend to board the station and retrieve the Captain. Their only option is to release our personnel unconditionally. Give them five minutes to reply then send in the Marines. Make sure they understand that they have kidnapped a free citizen of the Union and we expect her to be returned unharmed or there will be consequences. We will stick around as support for you, you might want to release the other Valour Class. Over."

"Clone, understood. That will really make us criminals if we attack a station. Over"

"Raijin, understood, however, it's Handren's Station and that man just tried to kill Kim and kidnap us as well. His villa is now in tatters because of his mistake, and his station is going to be the same unless he releases the Captain. Aucoin, out."

The Wanderer

The Wanderer sent a general broadcast on the open Guard Channel:

"All ships of the defence fleet of New Hadria, Planetary Control of New Hadria, and Handren Station, be advised that Handren Station has kidnapped the Captain of this vessel, a free citizen of the Union and Artura Handren has attempted to kidnap the owners of this vessel and kill their bodyguard while at his villa. As senior members of the Handren Company were at the Handren Villa when the attempted kidnapping and murder occurred, we consider the Handren Company to be involved in this kidnapping attempt and in the kidnapping of the Captain.

"Any ship of the Planetary Defence Force that engages this ship will be destroyed. We will not attack ships that are not actively engaging us. We are giving the station five minutes to return Captain Noor to us unharmed, or we will engage the station. Your time starts now. Wanderer Out"

"Wanderer, this is Planetary Control," a nervous voice returned on the Guard Channel. "Your threats are categorically rejected. Attacking the station will be considered a criminal act. You will stand down your weapons and open you vessel for boarding immediately or you will be destroyed. We have twelve ships that are ready to engage you. Do nothing to provoke open conflict.

"You have been warned. Over." the voice from the Guard Channel concluded.

"Planetary Control, this is The Wanderer. The Handren Company attempted to kidnap the owners of this vessel, and to kill their bodyguard. They left the Handren Villa in ruins after that attempt.

"The Handren Station, set up a phony customs ploy to get the Captain off this ship in order to kidnap her, which they have successfully accomplished. We left the shuttle bay seriously damaged and several of our crew were wounded by what was supposed to be station security but who engaged us in combat EVA suits. We considered this to be a deliberate attempt by the Handren Company to kidnap these three individuals and kill their bodyguards. We want the Captain returned immediately. We will return fire on any vessel attempting to engage, the station will be boarded so long as the Captain is on that station.

"This is YOUR final warning. Return the Captain to us alive, and you will not have an issue with us. Wanderer, out."

Jean Jacques Aucoin, Handren Station

"Well," said Comms, "that was definitive."

"Yes, but Handren owns the planet, they will not stand down," Raymond told the bridge.

"Tac O, Weapons, lets see what we can do to help the ship," Raymond ordered.

"Sir, Tac O, the ship is releasing the other Valour Class ships."

The image came up on the tactical display, showing the smaller ships moving away from the wanderer. The tactical display suddenly shifted as the Wanderer engaged her own tactical display and fed it to the other ships.

"Right, now we have a better idea of what is happening around us," Raymond said. "Let's move over toward the station, we are small enough not to bother anyone while they are more interested in The Wanderer."

"Aye, sir," the Pilot replied. He closed the visor down over his eyes, to give him the direct view of the immediate area around the Aucoin. He didn't need the distraction of the tactical display at the moment.

The Pilot tried to mimic what a small ship, attempting to get out of the way, would do. He successfully blended in with the other ships fleeing toward the station and points further out.

Planetary Control came up again on the Guard Channel.

"Wanderer, this is Planetary Control. Your attack on the Handren Villa has left Artura Handren in critical condition. You are being charged with attempted murder! Surrender for boarding immediately or you will be engaged. This is now a police matter. Control Out."

"Well, that's interesting," Raymond said. "Comms, did you record everything off our comp links?"

"Aye, sir," Comms replied.

"Fine, condense it and send it to Planetary Control," Raymond ordered. "Not that it will matter, but I want our version of this incident out there. The Wanderer should do the same, make sure they are aware."

"Messages sent, sir," Comms informed Raymond a few minutes later.

"Thank-you, lets see what happens. Seal those logs as the master copy, I want a confirmed chain of evidence on it at all time. Send a copy of it to Kim and Liea in the VIP lounge. Liea, I know your listening, I need you to scan the last few minutes of the diner to see what might have happened to Artura Handren." Raymond said.

"Got it, shouldn't take long to determine what, if anything, happened," Liea returned.

The Wanderer, Handren Station

"Handren Station, this is the Wanderer," came up suddenly on the Guard Channel. "Your time is up, are you going to release our Captain?"

"Wanderer, this is Handren Station, your Captain is no longer on board this station. She has been removed for the safety of the station. Over," came the answer to the question.

"Handren Station, our telemetry shows the Captain is still on board the station, release her immediately or we will act against you. Over."

"Wanderer, your Captain is no longer on board this station! Do not attack this station or you will be branded pirates! Over."

The answer from the Wanderer was to release four combat Shuttles from the holds. The shuttles each had twelve Marines in the new up armoured Combat EVA suits.

Shouting started immediately over the Guard Channel with Planetary Control ordering the shuttles to return to their ship and for the ship to prepare for boarding, which was ignored.

The planetary defence ships started moving in on the Wanderer, with one of them firing a 150cm torpedo at the ship. The Wanderer fired a burst of 50mm rounds that impacted the torpedo well away from the ship, shredding it as the Wanderer began to maneuver.

The defence forces were surprised by how quickly the big ship moved, and they spread out to prevent her escape. But that was the last thing that the Wanderer wanted to do, she was maneuvering to place herself in a strategic attack position not to escape.

The twelve vessels set themselves up to ring The Wanderer in a sphere of ships, but before they could complete the ring, the big ship suddenly accelerated and slipped outside their area of intended control. The big ship unmasked her Mk-48 and fired on the ship that had fired on her, taking out her starboard vane and damaging half of her sub-light engines. The Wanderer then simply slipped away, heading above the plane of the station.

"This is Planetary Control! You are ordered to cease firing immediately and prepare to be boarded! If you do not comply, you will be destroyed!"

"Control, Wanderer, your ship fired first and we warned what would happen if your ships engaged us. You have just been shown what we can do. We are not in the wrong here and will defend our people. Return our Captain and we will leave this system with no further hostilities. Over."

The Wanderer had maneuvered to place more interest on her than the shuttles headed for the station, but those shuttles had not been forgotten. As they approached the station, four small ships came out to meet them.

Jean Beaumont, Handren Station

The Valour class vessels had maneuvered to assist the big ship, but they all saw the smaller vessels exiting the station and heading toward the rescue shuttles.

"Tac O, what the hell are those?" Lt. Adriene Aveline demanded.

"Not sure, sir, but they look like atmospheric fighters that have been repurposed for action in space!" the Tac O replied.

"What would they have for weapons?" the Aveline asked.

"They would likely have an internal gun, probably 20mm, possibly a gatling style weapon, which means very high rate of fire. They would also have small missiles or rockets, more than enough to destroy the shuttles, ma'am," the Tac O reported.

"Shit, we have to get to them before they get to the shuttles," Aveline ordered.

"Yes, ma'am, but our orders are not to engage unless they fire on our people," he reminded her.

"Our shuttles could be destroyed before we have the option to retaliate!" Aveline snarled. "Pilot, get us over there now. I want to be in range to let them know that we mean business! Weapons O, weapons live, be ready to engage," Aveline shouted, receiving a chorus of Aye, Sirs, in return.

Marie Saitent, Handren Station

Lt. Josephine La Borgne noted the departure of the small ships from the station. A few moments later, the Beaumont sent her thoughts on what they were through the link.

"Well, that is a surprise," she commented to her bridge crew. "We have to protect the shuttles at all cost, but the Beaumont is correct, we cannot fire first.

"Comms, open a channel in the link for me," La Borgne ordered.

"Comms to your station, ma'am," the Comms O informed her after a moment.

"This is the Marie Saitent, the Jean Jacques Aucoin and the Jean Beaumont are the closest ships to the shuttles, they will run interference for them. We and the Olivia Brault will assist The Wanderer," she advised over the link, getting confirmation immediately from the other ships.

She didn't have long to wait as the Planetary Defence Ship nearest hers fired at and hit the Saitent with a blast from it's twin-gun pulse cannon. The ship's shield took the hit, the vessel shaken but with no real damage. That was all that La Borgne needed.

"Pilot, close in on that ship! Weapons live, take out that turret!" she ordered, and the ship moved swiftly to comply.

Thirty seconds later, the little ship was above and perpendicular to the enemy vessel with her bow pointed directly at it. Her 50mm fired a burst of rounds and the turret was destroyed.

The Wanderer, Handren Station

"Planetary Control, this is The Wanderer. You have been warned about attacking our ships while they are on a mission to rescue our Captain. We have shown restraint so far, but this is your last warning. The next ship that fires on this ship, our small ships, or our rescue mission will be destroyed. You have been warned."

"This is Planetary Control! You are engaging in criminal activity! Cease your attack immediately and prepare to be boarded!"

"Not going to happen, Control. We WILL get our Captain back or there will be hell to pay!"

Rescue Mission, Handren Station

"Well that is interesting," Marine Lt. Marc Teusleh commented to no one in particular on board the lead shuttle. "Pilot, what were they talking about protecting us from?"

"We have four small ships, likely modified atmospheric fighters heading our way," the Pilot returned. We are activating our 20mm, but they will likely have the same, and missiles or rockets. We should be more maneuverable as our shuttles are designed from scratch for flight in space, but if they have missiles, they don't have to get close to us to engage us."