Three Square Meals Ch. 041

"What's happening?" she asked with concern.

John spun his Command chair to face her, and he looked grim as he spoke, "We stumbled across what seems to have been a recent pirate attack. Some kind of luxury liner was interdicted and then ambushed. Dana's not detected any life signs, so we think the passengers have probably been kidnapped."

Alyssa magnified the tactical map and they saw the doomed passenger liner. It was a shiny, modern looking spacecraft, that looked very expensive. Unfortunately its chromed hull was now pockmarked with blast craters, and one of the engines had been destroyed by an explosion. The transponder tagged the vessel as the passenger liner Excelsior.

"The passengers might have all been killed," Rachel said sadly. "You wouldn't pick up any life signs then, either."

Dana nodded, but then said, "Yep, that's right, but I scanned the ship thoroughly, and I'm not picking up any significant biological matter. I'm fairly sure the survivors have been taken."

Alyssa had turned the Invictus, and had begun plotting a new course on the sector map hologram that floated above the bridge. When the blonde girl activated the Tachyon drive, the holographic representation of their ship was suddenly swathed in a soft blue glow, and they leapt effortlessly into hyper-warp.

"Do you know where they went?" Rachel asked in surprise.

John nodded, and said, "Calara studied the nearby star systems, and then cross-referenced them with reports of pirate attacks in the last few weeks. She's fairly confident she knows where they might be based."

Alyssa zoomed in the sector map until it switched to the system map for Eta-Tauri, which was a bright blue-white star orbited by four gas giants, and a couple of small barren planetoids. She activated the tactical map, and it began to list the facilities that were located in the system.

"There's the abandoned Gas mining facility. We think it's a good candidate for the pirates to use as a base," she said, pointing to the Rastan-Cooper Gas mining station that was in orbit around the third gas giant.

"Uh-oh," Dana said ominously, tearing her eyes away from the console in front of her. "I've just been researching the facility, and it was hit by an asteroid and badly damaged, that's why it was abandoned. From the logs of the incident it was deemed structurally unstable, and they couldn't drain the fuel tanks before it was decommissioned."

John frowned with annoyance, and growled, "Is there any chance we could catch them before they return to their base? If we can interdict them ourselves, it will keep the civilians from any added danger."

Calara shook her head as she regretfully informed him, "It's extremely unlikely. The attack must have happened several hours ago at least, or we would have been in range of the distress beacon. It's possible the liner didn't activate one, but that seems highly implausible, and it's much more likely that the pirates probably turned it off when they captured the ship."

"If that's the case, we'll sneak into the facility to take control of it, and prevent the pirates from rigging or setting off any explosives," he said decisively.

The girls nodded, and then looked up at the sector map to watch their progress. The Invictus raced through the systems on their rescue detour, the powerful Tachyon drive covering the vast distances in record time. A short while later they dropped out of hyper-warp in the Eta-Tauri system, and Alyssa immediately powered down most of the ship's systems, massively reducing the energy profile of the assault cruiser. The passive sensors did their work, and the tactical map began to fill with additional information, updating the map with some minimal details on the ships in the area.

"I'm only picking up what looks like one ship by the gas mining station," Dana informed them. "The transponder is turned off though, so I'm not sure what kind of vessel it is."

"The passenger liner wasn't hit that hard, mostly by laser cannon blasts," Calara said appraisingly. "If I had to guess, I'd say it's a small band using a decommissioned Destroyer or Frigate."

"OK, we stick with the plan," John said firmly. "Alyssa, Rachel, you're with me. Jade can sneak us in on the Raptor, just like we did with the Drakkar. Calara, Dana, I want you to stay on the Invictus. If anything goes wrong, you can try and bluff them into surrendering, but try and avoid a fight until we can secure the passengers. Any questions?"

The girls all shook their heads, and John, Rachel and Alyssa walked briskly to the briefing room to get geared up for combat. Dana got up quickly to follow after them and then she watched from the doorway as John and the two girls approached the equipping frames for the Phalanx armour. They stepped into the armoured boots and gauntlets, and then activated the controls that swung the robotic arms into position, which fixed the plated armour to their limbs and chest. Once they were fully enclosed, there was a series of rippling metallic clicks as the armoured was sealed, and John was the first to step away from the frame to collect a railgun from the weapon rack.

Dana clapped excitedly as she watched them, happy to see that the new identification system was working perfectly. John turned his armoured head to face her, and she could easily imagine the quizzical look on his face.

"What?" he asked her curiously.

"Take a look at the girls, you should be able to tell them apart now," Dana said with a big grin.

He turned to look at the two of them, and their gleaming white armour now sported the stylised head of a wise looking lioness on each shoulderpad. Alyssa's lioness was a golden yellow, while Rachel's was a tawny brown.

"Don't worry, you complete the set," Dana smirked, as she leaned against the doorframe.

He tilted his arm up so that he could look at his own shoulderpad, and saw a lion's head, complete with mane, in the same style as those identifying the girls.

"What do you think?" she asked him jovially, but a quick glance let him know how eagerly she was awaiting his verdict.

"Excellent work," he told her appreciatively. "It'll be really easy to tell the girls apart in a combat situation now, so well done!"

Dana beamed at him with pride, and then pointed towards the equipping frames. "I tweaked the safety sensors in those, so that as well as making sure it's safe to secure the armour pieces in place, they use facial recognition software to identify the user. The body armour then displays the correct lioness image, so that means we can use whatever suits are handy, and we'll be identified accordingly."

"Nice attention to detail," John nodded approvingly, as he slapped home a sabot clip into the XR75 railgun, and then picked up some hollow point magazines which he attached to the webbing on his armour.

"Good luck and take care," Dana said to them and waved goodbye, leaving them to finish getting ready.

Rachel and Alyssa were also now holding their weapons, and sighting through the scope now that they had loaded the magazines. They stood ready once they were happy with their equipment, and with a nod from John they walked out of the briefing room.

"You guys look great!" Calara told them enthusiastically, as they trooped past her. "Be carefully out there though, don't take any chances, not when the station is so dangerously unstable."

"I'll look after them, don't worry." John said, and they walked over to the grav-tube, where Jade was waiting for them patiently.

They waved Dana and Calara goodbye, and then stepped into the anti-gravity tubes and headed down to the bottom deck to go to the Hangar where the Raptor was awaiting them. Jade darted ahead, and slapped her hand on the button that would open the sturdy doors into the Hangar Bay. The gunship was ready, spotless and gleaming brightly in the overhead lighting as they jogged up the ramp and into the Raptor.

When they caught up to Jade in the cockpit, she was powering up the engines, and had opened the huge hull doors in the Invictus. In less than a minute she had lifted the powerful ship off the floor of the Hangar, and then used the retro-thrusters to ease the Raptor out of the Invictus, and away from the assault cruiser out into space.

"We're clear," she said to Calara on the voice comm.

Calara's face appeared in the view screen and she waved to them. "Good luck, and let us know if we can help with anything," she said soberly.

"You two stay safe as well," John told her, and she grinned at him and nodded before ending the call.

Jade looked up at him over her shoulder as he stood behind her pilot's chair. "It'll take me about ten minutes to get us there. Do you want me to come in with you as well after we dock?"

"Yes, definitely. If we have lots of civilians to rescue and protect, having you there too will be invaluable," he said firmly.

"No problem. Once we're inside, I'll shapeshift," she said confidently.

The ten minutes to approach the gas mining facility seemed to take an eternity, and it loomed larger as they stared at it through the cockpit canopy. It was a dark rusty red, with a cylindrical body and five long arms sticking out from the top. There should have been eight in total, but three had been sheared off in the impact with the asteroid, which had left a huge rent down the side of the facility.

They saw what looked to be a battered old Terran Federation Frigate that was docked on one side of the facility, proving Calara's guess to be correct. Jade didn't need to be told to dock on the opposite side of the gas mining station, and they soon sidled up to one of the docking arms, before clamping themselves securely in place.

John turned to face Rachel, and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You okay? Feeling nervous?" he asked her considerately.

She paused and then nodded hesitantly as she looked up at him.

"We'll look after you, don't be scared," he told her soothingly. "Just stick with Alyssa and follow her instructions. I'll be communicating directly with her via telepathy, and she'll pass it on to you. If you need to ask me anything, just use the voice-comms in the suit."

Rachel stood up straighter and nodded much more firmly this time. "I won't let you down," she told him in a determined voice.

"I know, you're a good girl," he told her affectionately, before he glanced at Jade and Alyssa. "Alright, let's move out."

They went down the grav-tube and then through to the cargo compartment at the back of the Raptor which contained the airlocks. Jade had docked on the port side of the gunship, so they approached that airlock cautiously. Once Alyssa had hit the button that made the outer airlock door spiral open, John removed the chrome decryption device from a compartment on his belt and then attached it to the door. It hummed happily to itself for a moment before the station airlock unlocked with a dull sounding thunk, then the two doors creaked loudly as they ground open. A rush of fetid air swirled through the doorway, and Jade wrinkled her nose with distaste.

She stepped away from them a little way, back into the room, and stripped off her top and dropped her trousers, then began to shimmer as she changed her shape. An instant later she reappeared in her Jade tiger form, and she padded past them and through into the station. She sniffed the air, her powerful muzzle lifted high, and then began to stalk forward.

*There's men approaching,* Alyssa warned John. *Only a couple she thinks, probably to investigate the noise from the door.*

He darted out of the airlock behind Jade, moving quickly along the corridor after her, with Alyssa and Rachel following close behind. The facility was in a terrible state of disrepair, with pipes venting steam into the corridor, broken overhead lighting, and floor panelling removed in various sections where maintenance had been started and then abandoned. They all heard the sound of men talking before they saw any signs of the incoming pirates.

"Ugh, why do we even need anyone on guard duty," one of the grumbled. "I could be getting laid right now."

"Tell me about it," the second one snarled. "I've never had me any high class pussy before, and now it'll be sloppy seconds at best."

John clenched his jaw with anger, and he could feel the fury coming off Alyssa over their telepathic connection.

*We better try and grab a prisoner if we can. We're going to need some information fast if we're going to have any chance of protecting those women,* John told her.

*Jade's on it,* she told him immediately, and John watched the huge tiger prowl forward rapidly, not making a sound.

She disappeared from sight for a few seconds, and there was the sound of a muffled scream, then frantic cries for mercy. John darted forward to catch up, and saw that Jade had cornered one of the men, who had dropped to his knees in terror, flinging his hands up in the air in surrender. The other man's decapitated head lolled on the floor, a horrified expression frozen on his face.

John strode up to the man and pointed his gun in his face. "Start talking now, or either I'll start shooting bits off you, or I'll let the tiger take her time with you. Where are the women prisoners?"

"On the n-n-next level down," the terrified man stammered.

"And the rest of the passengers, where are they?" John snarled.

"Locked up on this level, being guarded by a handful of the men," the pirate replied fearfully.

John tightened his grip on his weapon as he stared at the loathsome man. "Have you rigged this place with booby traps or any kind of explosive triggers?" he said in a no-nonsense voice.

The pirate shook his head quickly as he stared up at John. "We only moved in here a couple of weeks ago, and none of the crew are explosives experts. The Captain said something about an insurance policy though..."

"OK, you're coming up with us. Rachel, watch him. If he tries anything suspicious or attempts to warn his friends, you can kill him," John said forebodingly, and then nodded to Jade who darted away down the corridor.

John jogged along after the Nymph, with Alyssa at his side, as they tried to keep up with the dark green tiger, whilst making as little noise as possible.

"Move it arsehole," Rachel growled at the pirate, and the man stood up warily.

He put his hands on his head, and then walked several paces in front of her while she kept her weapon trained on him. They eventually caught up with the others who were paused to strike out of the darkness. They were on an upper gantry overlooking a gloomy circular room, in the middle of which was a table where four surly men sat around playing cards.

"I can't believe we got picked for fucking guard duty," one of them whined, in what seemed like a common grievance amongst those pirates stuck on this level.

His one-eyed compatriot nodded as he stared at his guards. "These useless dicks aren't going anywhere, they're locked up tight," he grumbled. "This is a bullshit waste of time."

"Did you see those bitches we pulled off that liner," an overweight pirate leered. "I'm gonna have me some fun when the Cap'n finally lets us have a go."

The fourth man was about to speak when John gave the signal to strike, and Jade leapt off the gantry, dropping twenty feet to the ground and letting out a terrifying snarl, revealing her razor sharp fangs.

"Freeze or you're dead!" John called out to the pirates as they scrambled back in fear from the enormous green tiger, the fat man falling off his chair in his haste.

The four men looked up frantically at the sound of his voice, suddenly spotting John and Alyssa pointing lethal looking rifles at them. They warily raised their hands, being careful not to do anything that might give the tiger, or the white armoured soldiers, any reason to attack.

John and Alyssa walked carefully down the ramp from the gantry, keeping their weapons trained on the pirates. When John reached them, he moved from man to man, stripping them of any obvious handguns or rifles.

"Any concealed weapons on the table. If we find them later, I'll kill you," he said in a voice that promised instant enactment of his threat.

The one-eyed man reluctantly pulled a small pistol gingerly from his belt, hidden behind his back, while the fat man slowly uncovered a vicious looking knife from his boot and added it to the growing pile of weapons.

"Good now back up over there," John said, waving them off with his weapon.

Jade had been prowling around the room, and she scratched at one of the sealed doors.

"The rest of the passengers are in there," Alyssa translated for her.

John turned to Alyssa and nodded. "I'll take Jade and save the women. Lock up these pirates in one of the rooms, and free the other passengers," he ordered.

He could feel Alyssa's reluctance to leave his side, but she nodded her agreement.

"Which way to the level down?" John snarled at the first pirate they had taken prisoner, who Rachel had brought down to join them.

The man pointed down a corridor on the other side of the dimly lit curved room. "Down there, then look for a gantry like this one with a ramp down to the next level," he answered quickly, then put his hand back on top of his head.

*We'll be back as soon as we can,* John thought to Alyssa, and he sprinted down the corridor, following Jade's lashing tail.

Alyssa kept a wary eye on the pirates in the middle of the room, and then carefully opened one of the sealed doors. The room inside was empty and featureless, and after a cautious look inside, she determined there was no way out of it.

"Alright, all of you in there," she told the pirates, indicating the room with a nod of her head.

The five pirates glowered at her with annoyance, now realising they were being guarded by two women, and feeling braver now that the terrifying beast had left the room. They shot her sullen looks as they walked past, and she could almost feel the hate and contempt pouring off them. When the last one was safely inside, she sealed the door behind them and spun the locking wheel on the metal door, locking them in.

"What a complete bunch of arseholes," she said to Rachel, shaking her head in disgust.

They walked over to the next door, the one that Jade had indicated, and carefully spun the identical locking mechanism, which unsealed the door. Alyssa tugged at the rust stiffened portal, and it open grudgingly with an unhappy squeal. Dozens of scared faces peered back at them from the dimly lit room, and as Alyssa yanked the door wide open, they saw there must have been at least fifty men in the room.

"Don't be afraid. We're here to rescue you," she called out to them in a clear voice. "Are any of you injured?"

A man in a ripped pseudo-naval uniform staggered forward. "Oh thank God you're here!" he said, his voice sounding desperate.

As he moved into the slightly brighter lighting from the circular room behind them, they could see that he had received a beating from the pirates, and his face was blackened with bruises, and bloodied with several cuts and gashes. Rachel slung her railgun over a shoulder, and then pulled the medical kit from her back as she walked over to him, and helped him to sit so that she could tend to his wounds.

"My name's Alyssa Marant, I'm the Executive Officer on the Invictus," Alyssa informed him, as she squatted by his side. "Who are you?"

"I'm Merick Bragan. I was First Officer on the Excelsior, and I guess I'm in charge, as these bastards beat the Captain to death," he said in a quavering voice.

"You're safe now," Alyssa told him in a soothing voice. "Just take it slowly and tell me what happened."

Merick slumped back against the wall, and stared up at the ceiling as Rachel began to clean the cuts on his face.

"We got yanked out of hyper-warp, and then the pirates started shooting at us. This part of Terran space is supposed to be totally safe!" he exclaimed, still shocked. "How could the T-Fed navy have let them set up like this?!"