Forging its way into the abyss the fuel freighter gleamed like a forbidden jewel, waiting to be picked from the branches of the broiling nebula in the distance.
Waiting in the abyss, floated the Amazi. Aging battlecruiser from stem to stern, his hull was tattooed in a patchwork of a hundred repair jobs performed in a dozen backwater spacedocks. Pacing the conning bridge, Captain Kim watched the prey with a determined scowl before giving orders to the helm officer.
"Sound general quarters, bring us about three degrees starboard, sixteen degrees ventral pitch."
Kim eased back into her crash couch and took a sip from stale coffee, still barely clinging to its last remnants of heat. A tall redhead reported back from the tactical station, her voice was a light tenor.
"Contact is turning to face us, I've got movement from point defense turrets."
She was right, as they closed Kim could see the small tri-barrelled point defense guns rotating back and forth, scanning for the target the freighters commander knew was there, but couldn't get the computer to lock onto. Amazi had an old but effective EM cloak, and this was precisely why she had refused to upgrade to automated point defense networks. Well, that and a constant lack of funds. Kim barked a quick order to the gunnery officer, Sergeant Carter.
"Get me a firing solution Carter, and put a shot across their bow. Let them know our purpose."
Without the freighters fuel Amazi wouldn't have enough power to keep the air scrubbers charged, much less find a more profitable target.
"Solution found, firing" Carter responded, she was a wiry woman from the outer colonies and Kim had always appreciated the slow drawl her voice brought to the bridge.
A slight ripple could be seen in the space separating the two vessels, followed by a detonation and a rippling shockwave just off the port bow of the freighter. Its fuselage visibly shuddered from the shockwave, but kept pushing forward regardless, closing the distance between the two vessels. Something didn't sit right.
"Still no response Skip." An excitable young communications officer piped up, holding her earpiece tentatively through locks of flowing blonde hair.
"I don't think they'll be giving one Jones, Carter go ahead and fire to disa..." Kim was interrupted from her order by a ripple erupting from behind the freighter and detonating a few meters off Amazi's ventral midship. A metallic groan shook the deck plates under their feet, sending hands grabbing for deck holds and officers floating back to crash couches as the gravity cut in and out.
"Disable her Carter. Now. Helm, hard to starboard, open an angle on his aft, something is hiding in the freighter's sensor shadow."
Kim barked her orders in rapid fire, and no sooner had the command left her lips a salvo of ripples tore through the freighter's port side and spat broken hull plates and debris out into the dark abyss. One shot tore through the port engine nacelle, and a brilliant flurry of flashes darted across the stern of the vessel.
Amazi was armed with four auto loading EM cannons that fired 80mm tungsten shells at near light speed, leaving a ripple of spacial distortion in their wake. They were considerably larger calibre than most vessels of her size, and the freighter was an old civilian unprepared for the onslaught it faced. With a lumbering turn to starboard, he limped away, struggling under the mismatched power of its starboard engines, thick plumes of grayish green plasma flowing behind it from the shattered port nacelle.
"Hold fire, scan for the second target." An uncomfortable silence hung over the bridge. Every eye watching the data streams and visual displays, waiting for the shadow to clear.
"Contact, fourteen mark three zero, small vessel, fighter class, sending recommended solution" the tactical officer called out, moments later Carter responded.
"Solution good, firing now."
Another stream of ripples, and the small fighter erupted in a ball of metal shards and plasma. It had a good plan. It tried to close the range by surfing the freighters shadow, but it had failed to adjust for the freighters sudden change in course. Kim needed to work quickly now.
"Tactical, keep scanning for any friends he might have. Helm, go ahead and bring us to the freighter and prepare for docking. Let's get this done."
They needed this fuel. More than ever. The edge of the nebula was rough territory, and the crew needed a payday. The freighter probably wouldn't be profitable, fuel was hard to sell. But it would allow them to venture through the nebula into better hunting grounds, and finally something worth the risk. She just hoped it wasn't too late. The morale was suffering.
"Vickers, take Dani and Axie with you, and form a boarding party. Secure the freighter, offload as much fuel as you can within an hour, and check their reserve hold for anything unusual." Commander Vickers nodded along as Kim gave the orders, her dark eyes sparking with the anticipation of boarding action. She gave a quick nod toward Kim and turned on heel, clicking her communicator as she ducked through the hatch.
"Dani, Axie, prepare for EVA and meet me at the starboard gangway."
A pair of voices echoed back to her as she grabbed the deck ladder and slid down.
"Willco"
One word. Simple, straightforward, precise. This was good, this was how she liked to start an operation. With a single swift movement she swung the hatch open and walked into the starboard gangway past a row of lockers leading to the airlock. The last one in the row was bright red, unlike the gunmetal grey of the others, and adorned with a spray painted V. After a quick snap of the thumb lock, the locker hatch swung open revealing her boarding kit.
Nobody left a ship without a suit. They were heavy and studded with armor, but stiflingly hot onboard, where the heat of the guns and various machinery kept the cold of space far at bay. Because of this, the crew typically just wore thin green tactical vests with loops for comms units and small arms, and then matching bikini bottoms for a semblance of modesty while preserving the comfort and necessity of a sweaty gundeck.
Vickers had finished the last latch on her suit when the other two girls came skittering around the corner, the first, a pale skinned and fair haired German girl named Dani, and the second an equally fair skinned but red headed girl named Axie. They were the most junior members of the crew, signing on as soon as they turned 20, hoping to find adventure and escape from the warzones of Europa.
"Get suited up. As soon as we dock we have one hour to complete fuel transfer, and examine the reserve hold." They nodded briskly in response and swung open their own lockers, revealing more suites of the same design.
After a few minutes of latching up, and helping one another with the heavy armored helmets that accompanied each suit, a soft clunk on the other side of the semi-circular hatch cued their arrival. Vickers handed each girl an EM rifle before taking her own. The speakers inside their helmets crackled with the captain's voice.
"Alright Vickers, you're cleared for boarding, good luck"
They all motioned to one other with a snap of their free hand, it was the natural nonverbal cue when their faces were hidden behind the dark armored helmets. Vickers slapped the hatch controls and it rolled aside with a hiss, exposing the dark interior of the awaiting freighter.
Cautiously the three proceeded down the gangway, dark scoring along the bulkheads and deck plate showing evidence of a previous skirmish, something wasn't right. Charred remains of heavy gatling turrets marked the gangway at its end, where the corridor junctioned off to the aft and bow.
Marking the space between the two corridors, was a meter wide dump valve leading to the primary fuel lockers. Vickers opened a radio channel to the other girls.
"Gangway is secure, you two begin offload, and maintain an open channel. Report any movement or engagement."
She shouldered her rifle and headed down the aft corridor. In turn, Dani began typing in commands on the valve plate as Axie returned through Amazi's airlock for the upload line.
The corridor was dark and cramped, lined on both sides with thick iron plumbing and arrays of valve systems for sending fuel between the primary tanks. There was a clunk, and a soft hum that thrummed through the bulkheads as pumps for the tanks activated. The girls must have successfully begun the offload, so the clock was ticking. Just before the corridor slanted towards the port stern, a large hatch appeared leading inboard, locked shut with a softly glowing control panel.
Vickers removed a small metal spike from the cuff of her EV suit, turned the head of it counter clockwise, and attached its magnetic backplate to the side of the control panel. She typed in a series of characters, and a loud grinding creak issued from the iron latches around the circular hatch. With a hiss it slid inward.
With the rifle tightly against her armored shoulder, Vickers stepped into the gloomy reserve hold, scanning side to side for more automated defense systems. Usually, fuel freighters didn't hold much of anything of significant value in the reserve hold, just extra components and auxiliary power units for maintenance. But something didn't feel right about this whole ship.
Everything looked right at first, a few crates of parts, all too large to take. But then, against the forward bulkhead, she saw something large and rectangular, about six feet long and three feet high, with a soft blueish glow radiating from the top of it. As she walked closer, rifle still at ready, she noticed a long bank of control panels along the edge of the object. This wasn't spare parts. Vickers had seen one of these during the rebellion, this was a human cargo pod.
Up close, the top was evidently clear, and the blue glow was coming from inside. What she saw inside made her freeze up with surprise and a tinge of excitement. Slowly, and with forced calmness, she cued her comm unit.
...
"A male?! Here? Aboard a fuel freighter?" Captain Kim exclaimed excitedly, getting up from her command couch and looking across the surprised faces of the other officers.
Vickers replied back, echoing through the bridge after Kim switched it to shipwide frequency.
"I confirm, looks to be in his late 20's, good health, definitely a male. Currently in a stasis pod. I'm not sure how to move the pod though, as soon as we disconnect it from the ship it will begin the extraction sequence. He's too valuable to leave here, but I don't know what to expect if we wake him."
Kim paced the width of the bridge slowly and ponderously. Vickers was right, they couldn't leave him behind. He was too valuable. But a male loose on the ship? That could be disastrous. Few of the women aboard had likely ever seen a male, and one wandering around the decks might ignite some passions that the ship's morale couldn't withstand.
"Examine the power conduits Commander, see if we can rig a portable to it for transport." No sooner had the order left her lips, tactical interrupted.
"Captain, two more contacts entering sensor range exiting the nebula. They are on a fast intercept course."
Captain Kim moved quick.
"Belay that order Vickers, disconnect immediately and get that stasis pod on board. Dani, Axie, cut the valve and secure the line. Get back aboard on the double. We have company."
