17:18 January 10th, 1648 AC Batavian Standard Meridian Date TimeAsteroid Fortress “Wijtschate”, habitation sector back alleys
Cassandra gripped her holdout pistol with both hands and pinged her Pulse to inject her with combat stimulants, quickly slicing the pie to look around the corner and firing off three shots, two to the chest and one to the head, of a flanking assailant, dropping him to the ground. In that brief moment she took an image of the man with her Shine, taking a quick note of his brown nondescript working jumpsuit. While he was dressed like a port worker, he certainly didn’t move like one. He moved more… like a soldier. While pilot implants differed greatly from those in use with the San Batavia Republic’s Korps Mariniers, they still gave the pilots an edge in conventional combat thanks to their reaction speeds, not to mention the high Ghost compatibility required for the pilots.
“Still alive over there Commander?” Heidi asked while firing four more shots in the direction of the street’s corner, followed by a scream of pain as a bullet or a piece of the wall impacted the assailant behind it. Cassandra pressed the mag release of her pistol, dropping it to the concrete road under her before slamming a new magazine inside of her weapon in a single, practiced motion and dropping the slide with the slide release.
“So far!” Cassandra shouted back while taking a glance at the two lieutenants taking cover behind her. Unfortunately for the group, neither Static nor Java had a sidearm with them, and Heidi was simply too far from the place where they took cover. Cassandra took a few more shots to prevent the next man from approaching as she held her position.
“I never wanted to be back in the cockpit of my Typhoon so much before,” Static muttered while she was looking over her shoulder nervously, her other hand on Java’s shoulder. He let out a groan as he rubbed his side, the result of his fellow pilot tossing him to the ground to get him into cover. “The fuck is happening? I thought this is our port facility? Where did those bastards come from?” he complained from the ground as Heidi turned around and fired off another burst of shots.
“Sure as hell would love to know that…” Cassandra muttered while glancing around. Her eyes practically lit up as she saw a way out of this mess.
“Hey, Heidi! That door over there!” she pointed at a nearby entrance. The marine officer nodded quickly, pulling out a light green grenade with black markings. She pulled the pin and tossed it onto the street. A second passed before a steady hiss escaped from the grenade, and thick white smoke filled the area. “Pick up Java and move!” she ordered Static while she ran towards the door.
Cassandra heard a half-hearted protest from the white-haired woman, but she grabbed Java by the shoulders and pulled the gasping man to his feet and shoved him forward before running over to Cassandra’s position. The blind gunfire created a steady rain of concrete and asphalt, impacting the ground and walls around them. They had mere moments before the assailants would realize they moved.
Heidi was beside the door, holding a rifle magazine marked with a single strip of blue tape. With the same hand, she gripped the rifle magazine already inside of her gun, pulled it out, rotated it 90 degrees, and then slammed the new magazine inside of it in one smooth motion. With another quick and well-practiced movement, she pulled the bolt of the rifle and shot four times in quick succession around the door lock before kicking the door open, while Cassandra was firing shot after shot in the direction from which she heard the assailants move. Though she couldn’t physically see them, her combat stimulant-enhanced Pulse and other implants enhanced her hearing and physical abilities enough that it didn’t matter, especially as they continued firing into the smoke, revealing their position by the muzzle flashes erupting from their weapons. Heidi quickly hand-signaled that the way was open, the three pilots and the marine quickly entered and looked around the small halfway, taking cover behind a small stone stairway going up.
“I called reinforcements. They should be here in five,” Heidi said while firing off shots through the doorway left behind them. “We should be fine here for the moment.” The gunfire illuminated the cordite and the smoke, and every pull of the trigger made the alleyway burn as bright as daylight.
Cassandra glanced at the fire escape plan on one of the walls and nodded with a sigh of relief. “This should do,” she agreed while checking how many rounds were left in her magazine. The situation felt absurd. She just went outside to pick up two pilots from a Gendarmerie facility and now she was in a shootout with unmarked assailants in the streets of an asteroid fortress’ hab section. Just how much did the world change?
“Why do you think they attacked us, skipper?” Static asked Cassandra while Java was rubbing his bruised knee. “I doubt they were trying to rob us. Must have been personal or something, right?” she wondered aloud while Cassandra switched places with Heidi for a moment, covering the marine while she was reloading her battle rifle. She fired off a few shots before responding.
“Sure as hell was. It’s probably about Bonaventure's deployment,” she said, taking the pistol magazine offered to her by the marine. “That must be why they want to get us deployed as soon as possible.”
She gritted her teeth as she felt the combat drugs wearing off, burned up by her implants and her systems. The questions which were lingering in her Ghost after the command meeting only grew stronger. What was happening? Port security was fairly strong. How did someone smuggle mercs into the asteroid fortress?
“Frag out!” Heidi announced before throwing another grenade to the doorway and ducking. The remote fuze linked to the marine’s Ghost fired and detonated the explosive mid-air right behind the door frame, showering the area with deadly pieces of shrapnel and filling the alley with the screams of the attackers.
A single half-hysterical thought crossed Cassandra’s mind and made her wince.
This would be so much paperwork…
17:42 January 10th, 1648 AC Batavian Standard Meridian Date TimeAsteroid Fortress “Wijtschate”, Habitation Sector back alleys
“I can’t say that I am thrilled, Commander van Ness. Do you realize how much paperwork this will cause?” the Gendarmerie officer groused as he looked at the door blown off of its hinges, shrapnel marks all over the street of the asteroid fortress and the bullet impact holes all over the place. He prodded the shoulder of one of the dead assailants with the tip of his boot, and his frown deepened. “First I have your pilots on my hands in my cells… Then you get into a firefight in my fortress. They really don’t pay me enough.” he sighed as he continued talking, but Cassandra tuned the spiel out as she did her best to hold back a rude comment about fortress garrisons.
“Once I have the preliminary report on the incident and the identification of the attackers, I’ll send it to you with a copy to the ship’s captain and JAG. But don’t get your hopes up, Commander,” he finished by pulling out a pack of cigarettes from the breast pocket of his uniform jacket, flicking the paper container open, and pulling out one of the sticks.
Cassandra frowned.“Why is that, Kolonel?” she asked. It was always a bit odd interacting with the more integrated rank system of the Marchaussee, resulting in plenty of jokes the Commonwealth soldiers made about the RMar personnel and soldiers from the rest of the Republic posted in the systems of the Autumn Stars. Plenty a pencil pusher tried to correct the second o in Majoor to a single one in the Commonwealth style, leading to a plenty of back and forth whenever junior bureaucrats were involved.
He pointed to one of the data pads his fellow MPs were holding with his unlit cigarette. Cassandra frowned as she looked over the text displayed.
“Stowaways. No record. No returns. Just a few security camera shots.” Cassandra bit back the urge to let out a frustrated scream.. This was getting worse by the minute.
“Not your normal criminals, Commander. Now you know,” the man nodded.
“I’ll bring it up to the captain… I’ve got a meeting with him this evening anyways.” Cassandra responded, rubbing her temple with one hand and closing her eyes for the moment. “Are we free to return to Bonaventure, Kolonel?”
“Yes you are, Commander. But I’d recommend that personnel of Bonaventure avoid leaving the ship until its departure. I’d prefer to… have a bit of a calmer day,” he said with a shrug, lighting his cigarette. “Talk to one of my men blocking off the street. They’ll drive you to the carrier.”Cassandra wanted to protest, but at this point she didn’t have enough energy to argue with the RMar. Turning away from him, she walked over to the troublesome duo that started this headache of a day for her.
“Alright you lot. Let’s go,” she waved over to the pair of pilots and the marine and headed over in the direction of one of the armoured personnel carriers the MPs were using.
“Are you alright, skipper?” Java asked her slowly as they walked past the other crime scene investigators.
“Not really. But at this point I don’t want to say that it can’t be worse.” Cassandra said in a tired tone of voice.
18:00 January 10th, 1648 AC Batavian Standard Meridian Date TimeHMCS Bonaventure (DSC 013), Senior officer wardroom on the command deck
Cassandra walked into the senior officer wardroom, feeling as if she had lead weights on her legs and her shoulders. While she felt drained the last time she entered it for the officer meeting just two days prior, now she felt like she was a shambling zombie, barely clinging onto a facsimile of life. It was quite calming seeing the soothing brown walls and the subtly decorated interior of the wardroom after a day filled with running around the carrier, bureaucracy and a bloody shootout in the asteroid fortress. She clicked her tongue as she was suddenly reminded of something; she would also have to check with the reserve wings’ Chief Medical Officer due to going through a firefight. Work just loved to pile up in the Navy.
To add to it, Majoor Heidi Brown took the attack very personally and insisted that she will accompany her to the Captain to make her own report. The marine officer now standing beside the coffee machine, making them both a cup of the black navy brew. Cassandra also found it quite amusing that the Majoor in charge of an entire company aboard a deep space carrier added a serving of foam, bit of milk and a generous amount of maple syrup.
Cassandra grinned at the brown haired marine, now taking a clearer look with the helmet gone. She had a few barely noticeable scars on her face, mostly covered up by regenerative treatment and somewhat puffy cheeks. Her movements nonetheless revealed the precise movements of a Marine, caused by the variety of muscle and bone enhancements the members of the Korps went through during their training.
“So… You’re a fan of the Corlain customs?” she nodded over to the coffee, accepting one cup from the gloved hands of the Marine.
Heidi nodded. “Sweet things were a bit rare where I grew up. So it is… nice, so to speak, for it to be so readily available like this, na’am,” she said simply in response. Cassandra rolled her eyes as she heard the marine respond. “Drop the ma’am. You saved my arse back there. While in the wardroom, at least call me Cassandra,” she said with a sigh. She was tired enough and the reminder of her rank wasn’t helping her in the slightest.
What did help recover her mood, however, was the refreshing earthy, spicy, and herbal taste of Corlain coffee, mellowed out by the addition of milk and maple syrup. Cassandra preferred her coffee black, but by Stars and Tides, indulging a little every now and then didn’t hurt.
“I’ve been part of the marine company on the light carrier SBRS Rhine before being reassigned here, Comma—Cassandra,” Heidi responded. “I’ve got fired upwards and sent here.” She shrugged her shoulders before taking a long drink from her coffee cup.
“Though I got one request, Cassandra,” She then added after a while.
“Yes?” Cassandra asked, raising an eyebrow.
The brown haired marine stared right into Cassandra’s eyes.
“Next time I’ll be escorting you out of the ship, please wear body armour,” She declared.
“Oh come on,” Cassandra exhaled. “Is that really necessary? This kind of thing can’t happen twice, right?”
Heidi held her unblinking gaze. “I insist, Commander.”
18:15 January 10th, 1648 AC Batavian Standard Meridian Date TimeHMCS Bonaventure (DSC 013), Captain’s Cabin on the command deck
Cassandra stepped through the door and gave Captain Boudewijn Kruger a salute. Heidi followed right after her and gave her own salute, but even she noticed how the Marine was fighting the urge to look around the decorated interior of the captain’s cabin. She hasn't seen it yet… Cassandra realized in bewilderment as she looked over the carpet and the impressive furnishings of the room.
“Ah, Commander, Majoor. Please, no need for the formality today. You went through a rough encounter I heard?” the Captain said as he beckoned them over to the table. The two officers nodded and walked over, taking their seats before talking. Naturally, the Captain would have already read the reports they submitted, but he probably wanted to know their impressions.
“I don’t like it, Captain,” Cassandra said. “They definitely knew what they were looking for. It felt like this was targeted, sir.”
The Captain nodded slowly, resting his elbows against the table while leaning forwards, pressing his palms together as he watched Cassandra speak.
“No matter if it was targeting me specifically, or just personnel from Bonaventure in general, I think it is meant to interfere with our departure schedule. It feels… Connected to how vague our departure orders and task force assembly are,” She quickly added and Heidi nodded.
“They also didn’t seem like some roughs from a port, sir,” Heidi clarified for the Captain. “... those were mercs. Not top of the line mercs, but someone snuck them into an asteroid fortress. Someone powerful has their fingers in this, if they manage to do that.”
The Captain sat in silence for a moment before slowly nodding. “I agree with the two of you, but the Admiral’s staff told me they cannot reveal more about our mission at this moment. I’d prefer to launch a full investigation, but unfortunately, it just isn’t possible with so little time before departure,” he said with a weary sigh. One of his hands idly tapped the table as he considered his next steps. “We’ll have to stay alert. Increased security as we head for Vidar and hopefully, no more incidents will happen.”
Cassandra frowned. She understood the Captain’s position on the matter, but at the same time, something felt deeply wrong.
Almost like two years ago at Cadair Idris.
“There is one more thing the two of you should know, but keep it on the down low for now.” the Captain said, and Cassandra had only the briefest of moments before she felt like her chair had been kicked out from under her. “Someone leaked the formation of Task Force 14 and departure time of Bonaventure to the press.”