September 26th, 8252
You crack your knuckles and dig into dinner. The synthesizer's 'buffalo chicken pizza' isn't bad but you always have it churn out extra hot sauce and blue cheese to top it. Soy-chicken is always extra bland, even compared to actual chicken. At least the both act as flavor sponges. Midshipman Huckle is busy losing another round of rummy to CWO Fish over steins of home-brewed beer. CWO Fish's stein and drink are holographic but she does a good impression of getting 'socially lubricated' anyway. You gave up letting her deal cards, ever, after she showed of her skill at dealing seconds and deck manipulation. You watch the game progress and become increasingly certain that she is also counting cards. Midshipman Huckle isn't playing for credits and is probably thanking his lucky stars that he's not as CWO Fish cleans up another round with ease. You decide to butt in and save your midshipman just a bit.
“How does the course to Clouwell look navigator?”
“It's shaping up nicely. There's a bit of extra gravitation flux to consider when leaving Tumul, same as when we arrived, so its ten days at standard speed. Twenty at pathfinder speed so that we can map it all out of course.”
“Take your time refining it. We're going to spend another few days checking out VBG Kaerndal and the ship graveyard. Midshipman Huckle, who has the next boarding lead?”
“I do Sir. Engel had the last ship, so I get the next one.”
“Right then start thinking about your plan for sweeping the Kaerndal.”
“Already have something in mind for that Sir. Five search teams of eight automatons and two eggheads each. Split the station into quadrant and send a team through each. I take the fifth team and investigate each anomaly in turn. It's not the fastest, and risks a few more eggheads then I really would like, but we have the spare parts to repair automatons as needed.”
“Can we do it with fewer eggheads? I don't like the thought of risking half of our compliment of them.”
“Ehhh. Probably sir, but it would cut the search speed by a third and leave each team with no backup command slash communications link when something inevitably goes wrong.”
“Alright, do it. But take CWO Fish with you.”
“Sir?”
“Uhh, why me Sir? Not like I have any experience with tech, search work, or combat.”
“If each of the other teams has a backup command unit, then you need a backup too. And CWO Fish is, by her nature, void armored with no need for an external suit that could get damaged when things go sideways. About as tough as your exo suit and with a longer lasting power supply to boot too.”
“Well damn Sir, when did you learn all of my secrets?”
“Not nearly all of them, but the tech specs that came with your CV made for interesting reading.”
“Damn, can you shoot me a copy of those sir? I'd love some ideas for my next round of cybernetics.”
“Not without asking the permission of CWO Fish first. It is her body that you are asking about after all.”
“Oof, Sorry CWO.”
“Ehh, we can talk details later. Let me pull up the historic schematic and the battle damage scans from the mainframe and we can start mapping things out.”
September 30th, 8252
Stolen novel; please report.
SURVEY REPORT: VBG 82 KAERNDAL
STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: 87 PERCENT
CORE SYSTEMS STATUS:
FUSION REACTORS: OFFLINE
Reactors one, two, and four are in an emergency / battle damage shut down state with matching signs of battle damage in the compartment. Reactor three is in an emergency shut down state due to breached hydrogen feed lines.
Reactor compartments one and two show evidence of breached hatches and internal boarding / counter boarding operations.
Reactor compartment three is intact but the adjacent service ways and ducts show signs of significant collateral damage from explosives and over-penetrating shots. Hydrogen feeds lines are breached in multiple places.
Reactor compartment number four is breached clean through to space and has the remnants of a pirate boarding craft wedged into the floor. Collateral damage from this and fighting in the compartment is severe in the extreme.
PARTICLE SCREENS: OFFLINE
Primary particle screen generator bank number one: Overload state with blown reset breakers. Cause: sustained ship weapons fire.
Primary particle screen generator bank number two: Destroyed along with most of it's compartment. Suspected cause: pirate 'tallboy' deep penetration torpedo. Evidence not 100% conclusive at this time but a matching weapon with a failed detonator (now removed) was found one compartment deeper into the station. Damage path indicates it was aimed for particle screen generator bank number two but missed and then failed to detonate.
Primary particle screen generator bank number three: Overload state with damage to power supply conduits. Damage patterns consistent with a hostile boarding team equipped with cutting or breaching charges.
Primary particle screen generator bank number four: Destroyed by catastrophic power surge and / or overload due to heavy ship weapon fire.
Backup particle screen generator bank number one: Overload state with blown reset breakers. Cause: sustained ship weapons fire.
Backup particle screen generator bank number two: Operational, but will need new power conduits run. The 'tallboy' torpedo that missed the primary particle screen generator number two also severed all power supply to the compartment.
Backup particle screen generator bank number three: Destroyed by satchel charge.
Backup particle screen generator bank number four: Destroyed by ship mounted heavy energy weapon fire. The entire compartment is part of a blast crater.
COMMAND BRIDGE: DAMAGED
Primary command bridge hatch breached explosively, barricaded, and then blown open with sustained application of explosives. Heavy damage from boarding and counter boarding fighting in the compartment. Estimate that the primary command bridge was lost and retaken at least once, and possibly multiple times, during the fight for VBG Kaerndal.
COMMAND INFORMATION CENTER: DESTROYED
CIC compartment was breached from three separate directions (main hatch, rimward bulkhead, and overhead). Barricades and damage from boarding and counter boarding fighting indicates that the compartment was eventually taken via liberal application of grenades and satchel charges. While technically intact, every piece of equipment in the CIC will need total replacement.
LIFE SUPPORT: OFFLINE
Primary, secondary, and tertiary life support arrays were all deliberately sabotaged. Methods range from mass severing of power and data cables to cutting liquid and gas lines to mass application of kinetic projectiles to electronic interfaces. Overall damage is comparatively light and, in theory, easily repairable.
CREW QUARTERS: DAMAGED
Crew living spaces have been looted, burned, and breached in multiple places. Restoration work is mundane in nature but expansive in scope.
SENSOR ARRAYS: DESTROYED
All external sensor arrays, including the FTL comm link array, are severely damaged or outright destroyed by ship weapons fire. FTL comm link array suspected to be the primary target of these efforts, but the damage is too widespread to be sure of this.
MISSILE BATTERY ALPHA: DESTROYED
Cause of destruction is catastrophic munition detonation in the launch tube. It is unclear whether this was from a munition malfunction or the result of incoming fire during a launch cycle.
MISSILE BATTERY BETA: DESTROYED
Cause of destruction is multiple pirate 'tallboy' torpedo impacts and detonations. At least one munition detonated inside of the missile feed resulting in a chain detonation that took the missile battery with it.
POINT DEFENSE CLUSTER ALPHA: DESTROYED
Destroyed by multiple shipboard weapon strikes. At least six separate blast craters overlap in this region.
POINT DEFENSE CLUSTER BETA: DESTROYED
Destroyed though sustained fire. Multiple laser emitters simply burned out form extended use. Sustained attack by pirate bombers suspected.
POINT DEFENSE CLUSTER CHARLIE: DESTROYED
Destroyed by internal damage / sabotage from boarding parties. Power feeds and capacitor banks were targeted with explosive charges and EMP munitions.
POINT DEFENSE CLUSTER DELTA: DESTROYED
Cause of destruction is estimated to be a glancing hit from a heavy shipboard energy weapon. Large sections of the exterior hull in this region are slagged, having literally melted and run.