Balrikan shadow craft
Outer Kuiper Belt
18.3-time units after destruction of Hunter Pack
Sub-Chieftain Sskirlk continued to monitor the light and transmission signals with his instruments, the delicate mechanisms on the hull of the small, single-occupant shadow craft tasting the interstellar medium.
He stared at the sensor diagrams in shock as his eyes roamed over the dimly lit screens. He replayed the recordings again, seeing the void black ships of the disgusting inferiors laying waste to each formation as they tore through them like a talon through the soft underbelly of prey.
He hissed fearfully as he watched the last battle again, the smaller black ships ripping apart the much larger Balrikan battleships with ease. Not even one of the unclean ships had been destroyed as they hurtled through the formations at speeds that were impossible.
Panicked thoughts filled his mind, afraid to give a voice to them for fear of being struck down by the holy ones for such impure thinking.
Masters save us; our most evil enemies are back. The whisperings are true, and we face the Ma’Kin’Ati again. How could the Masters forsake us like this? Are we not their holy warriors?
As his vessel continued to smell the space around it and capture more evidence to be studied by the wise ones, the information processing system alerted him to an unusual frequency it had tasted.
He scanned the symbols being displayed on the screens, not understanding why the device could not categorize it. The frequency was obviously from the filthy creatures, but it was not encrypted, nor was it a verbal or coded signal.
Sskirlk sent the frequency to the audio system and instructed the system to activate. The most fearsome noises he had ever heard came blaring out of the system, causing him to keel over as he tried to cover the hearing holes on the sides of his head with his primary hands.
It was not enough, and he heard the evil chanting of the impure ones through them, obviously beseeching their false Masters to assist them in the battle. The banging filled him with terror, and he voided his bowels on the deck plates, feeling the warm foulness as it dribbled down the back of his legs.
Too loud, he realized with panic as the terrible sounds continued to blast him with evilness that echoed throughout the tiny compartment. The stench of his bowels permeated the air, and he retched onto the deck plates as he trembled uncontrollably.
Forcing himself back up, he lurched to the control panel and fumbled with his two secondary hands to turn the horrible noises off while still covering his ear holes with his primary hands.
He finally found the right control and slammed a clawed fist down on it, smashing through the interface and damaging the panel. The noises continued, and he screamed for the control system to turn off the audio system.
It did not respond, the horrible sounds continuing to reverberate throughout the small shadow craft. He had caused too much damage to the control panel when he smashed through the interface, and it was no longer functioning properly.
“Masters, please save me!” Sskirlk screeched before babbling incoherently as he collapsed onto his knee joints. He prostrated himself, ignoring the clammy wetness and stench of his excrement as he pressed his head into the foulness and prayed with all his might.
A bright light filled the tiny compartment visible through his tightly clenched eyelids. He lifted his head back up, in awe that the holy ones had answered him and come to his ship to save him.
For a moment, everything stopped for him, even the dreadful noises of the terrible enemy transmission as he hurried to the small, tinted porthole above the panels and looked through it to see his salvation.
The terrible noise came back with a vengeance as he saw not the Masters but a small black ship. He saw the flash of the grapplers shooting out from the bottom of the ship and hurtling towards him in slow motion before he felt the shadow craft suddenly jolt.
The craft jerked again, more violently this time, and he was knocked off his feet as his ensnared vessel was pulled to its doom. He hooted maniacally, his mind now broken, as he began slamming his head against the metal deck plates as hard as he could.
All he wanted was for the abominable noises to cease as he tried to break open his skull and end his torment. He was still hooting wildly when he slammed his head one last time, and the noises ended.
* * *
Privateer योनि लुटेरा - The Star Marauder
System J-185, Outer Kuiper Belt
“Easy does it, Jameson. Just like reeling in a fish.” Khan said quietly as he gently patted Jameson’s left shoulder. He was standing behind him and watching nervously as the grapplers continued to pull the small ship towards the Star.
Jameson grunted in acknowledgment of Khan’s soft coaching as he continued to monitor the retraction rate of the grappling cables and maintained the proper tension.
So far, there have been no attempts to break free from the grapplers or any attempts at sending distress calls besides the poorly concealed radio emissions emanating from inside the craft.
The emissions suddenly showed up on their scanners and allowed the Star to locate the source. They were only four light minutes away and had no idea the small ship was even there and so close to their own position.
It was obviously a Balrikan version of a spy craft or surveillance vessel to have such stealth capabilities, and Khan wanted to get both the Star and the prize ship away before the Republic forces in the system realized they were here.
They had been following the Balrikan fleet for the last six days, using the stealth tech the Republic had outfitted onto their ship for the mission. The stealth tech was a generation out of date, but the pirate ship and crew had other ways of remaining hidden that had been learned over many years.
The addition of the outdated tech enhanced the abilities of their own methods, and the Balrikans never knew they were being followed by the sleek, frigate-sized pirate ship.
What really helped them the most were the null dampeners that prevented the Balrikans from detecting the null space propagation waves of their ship as they traveled behind the fleet.
This tech was most certainly not out of date, and the AI program embedded within it would destroy the ship if it detected any attempts to scan or modify the dampeners. Khan assigned his two most trusted men to kill anyone who attempted to go near the engineering compartment the device was installed in.
After following them for several days, Khan leaned heavily on his special forces training as well as the decades of experience and wisdom accumulated by Yuri to collect a veritable treasure trove of intelligence about the capabilities of the new enemy.
The arrogant murder raptors made no attempts whatsoever to observe even the most basic operational security measures, making Khan’s job incredible easy and far less dangerous than it ought to have been.
MASINT, SIGINT, TECHINT. All of it was collected with ease, and Khan even used old-style telescopes to collect images of weapons systems and other hull apparatuses.
The amount of data they collected was incredible, and Khan had half a mind to ask for the bounty to be doubled just based on the intelligence they were able to procure along with the prize ship if they captured one.
They knew the fleet was hunting down the scattered Insectoid survivors since they were able to detect the same unique Insectoid drive signatures the Balrikans had been tracking across many light years.
Khan couldn’t help but feel bad for them, despite the vehement hatred most pirates had for the Insectoids. Operating along the lucrative Insectoid/Commonwealth border region was fraught with risks, mostly from the Insectoid ships that mercilessly attacked and destroyed dozens of pirate ships every year.
Most of the crew relished the destruction of the Insectoids here, unable to see past their own petty desires for revenge and cheering on the destruction of tens of thousands of Insectoids ships.
The morons viewed it as the Insectoids finally getting their long overdue comeuppance and considered it to payback for all the pirate ships they destroyed and the billions they killed.
Khan saw it differently. This was evidence that the most powerful species of the quadrant after the Ma’lit just had their asses handed to them by an even worse enemy than they ever were, and they would not stop with just the Insectoids.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Now six days later, they found themselves flashing into the outer boundary of the Kuiper belt as they detected the signs of an impending flash out from the Balrikan fleet in front of them.
The Star immediately disappeared among the icy, ancient leftovers from the formation of the solar system as the stealth protocols were activated and began collecting intelligence with their passive scanners.
The Republic had given them three spy drones, again with killer AIs just waiting to murder them if they even looked at them the wrong way. He quickly deployed them, their null space flashes barely registering on his scanners as they went deeper into the system to observe the Balrikan fleet.
Khan relished the open-mouthed shock of the bridge crew as the light from the first, then the second, and finally the third and nearest battle reached the Star. The fools had been in the hinterland for too long and had a very inflated view of their own combat prowess.
Used to dealing with the casualty-averse Commonwealth Navy, the multi-species crew had no idea what the Republic military forces were truly capable of. During the battles, he noticed the furtive glances from the bridge crew as they looked at him.
They knew he was in the Republic special forces, and as one of the few humans on the ship, he was relegated to the same capabilities as the others. Now though, he could see the newfound respect and fear they had for their captain as they glanced at him quickly before looking away.
They had seen him kill the Ominian captain for refusing to respond to the Xenxin distress call, an unspoken law of space that even the most bloodthirsty of pirates dared not to break. They saw him slaughter a well-known human assassin with his own favored weapon of choice.
Now they just saw Republic military ships utterly destroy a force more than ten times their number and tonnage. The Republic capabilities displayed for all to see would be equated to the captain’s own in the eyes of the crew.
Good, let them fear me. Now I won’t have to deal with stupid challenges anymore, Khan thought to himself as the Balrikan vessel continued to be reeled in. The signal emissions were still coming from the small ship, and he wanted to board it and turn it off before they propagated into the inner system.
“C’mon, hurry up.” He murmured to himself as the ship neared the docking clamps located on the ventral hull. A minute later, the clunking of the clamps grabbing the vessel could be heard as they echoed through the bulkheads of the ship.
Khan pointed to three bridge members and turned towards the exit hatch, the selected crew falling in behind him as they left the bridge and hurried down to the ventral airlock. Yuri and two others were waiting outside the hatch when they arrived, and Khan palmed the panel on the side of the airlock.
The light turned from red to green, and the hatch silently slid open. Yuri handed Khan his weapon belt, and Khan wrapped it around his hips before pulling out the Colt M1911 pistol from the holster.
It had been passed down from father to son, and it still worked like a charm after 231 years. He quickly ejected the magazine to ensure it was properly loaded before sliding it back in and cocking the hammer.
Khan favored it over the more modern weapons for boarding actions, the .45 ACP hollow point rounds perfect for CQB in the small, confined spaces surrounding airlocks.
The slow-moving heavy rounds had incredible stopping power, capable of penetrating through the thick hides and musculature common in some species, even dropping enraged Xenxin with a properly placed round.
The hollow point also prevented rounds from breaching bulkheads and hulls, greatly reducing unintended casualties and limiting damage to areas outside the battle area.
In a way, it was a more humane weapon as Khan tried his best to disable rather than kill when boarding ships, and no one wanted to continue fighting after being hit by a .45 ACP in their arms and legs.
Another benefit was the unexpectedly loud sound of the gun firing in the tiny compartments, often stunning defenders into a momentary inaction or causing them to instinctively drop their weapons and cover their ears.
No one expected such an archaic weapon to be used, not when more deadly pulse rifles or short-range plasma pistols were readily available and preferred by most pirates.
Looking at the others, he nodded to them before palming the second airlock. A few moments later, the hatch slid to the side, and Khan stepped to the side to allow the hacker to go through the short tube to try to open the Balrikan airlock hatch without having to breach it.
The hacker connected her scanner to the hull next to the airlock and inspected the Balrikan panel before fishing out several wires from the scanner and inserting them into small ports along the side of the panel.
Machine code appeared on the small scanner screen as the hacking program tried to figure out the Balrikan operating system. Less than ten seconds later, the hacker turned back around and nodded her head; she was ready to open the airlock.
Khan nodded to her, and she tapped on the scanner before beating a hasty retreat behind the boarding party. Khan palmed the second airlock shut as soon as she passed it.
Six seconds later, the Balrikan airlock opened, and he examined the atmospheric composition report being displayed on the scanner as the sensors tested the air that came out of the Balrikan airlock.
74.02% nitrogen, 23.95% oxygen, 0.82% argon, 0.07% carbon dioxide, and 0.00037% methane
Temperature: 40.5556 degrees Celsius
Uncategorized: bacterial and viral contamination detected; Class-3 immune modulator recommended.
Khan raised a hand and signaled for the team to inject themselves as he continued to read the report. It was going to be hot, but overall, the air was almost the same as most space-faring species, with some minor differences in the trace gases.
He injected himself with the recommended modulator before turning around to face them.
“All good?”
They all indicated readiness, and he turned back and palmed the hatch open. It slid to the side again, and he went first, his pistol out. He reached the Balrikan airlock and entered it, flipping down the Opti-sight glass over his dominant eye as he entered the dark interior.
There was a second airlock, and the hacker efficiently repeated the process before tapping the scanner and retreating behind them again. Six seconds later, the airlock slid aside, and Khan gagged from the sudden stench as the interior air came rushing out.
The others started gagging as well, and he heard the hacker behind them throwing up. He turned around, trying to keep his own breakfast down as he looked at the rest of them. The hacker looked him dead in the eyes as she wiped the vomit from her lips with the back of her arm before speaking.
“Nuh-uh. I am not going in there, Captain. I will remain out here and have one of the crew bring me a helmet. It smells like unwashed asses and dead bodies.”
That was exactly what it smelled like now that she cataloged it, and he slapped on the comm node on his upper left chest and spoke into it. “Khan here. We need five void helmets brought to the airlock immediately.”
They all retreated beyond the first Balrikan airlock and closed it as they waited for the helmets to arrive. The hacker had the ship recycle the air in the tube and the airlocks, the fresh air taking away the fetid stench.
He could swear he still smelled the disgusting stench lingering on his uniform, though. Yuri complained about the smell still in his nose, and two others agreed with him as the helmets finally arrived.
They all put them on, and Khan led the way again as they reopened the hatch and passed through the second airlock. The transparent void helmets thankfully prevented them from smelling the air, and Khan went down the short corridor until they came to another hatch.
This one had four handles, and both Khan and Yuri grabbed two handles each and slid their sides of the doors open. As soon as the doors parted, loud sounds came through the gap and filled the short corridor, echoing off the bare metal bulkheads.
Khan turned to Yuri, scarcely believing what they were hearing. “Is that heavy metal, Yuri?” he asked incredulously. Yuri nodded, surprise on his face as he answered.
“I think so, Captain. It is not of any heavy metal I have heard before, but that is definitely human music.”
Khan swore quietly to himself, wondering what the hell was going on as he slipped through the opening they had made and pointed his pistol in front of him.
He continued down the second corridor, the Opti-glass casting everything in a pale green hue out of his right eye as his left tried to acclimate to the darkness. The music became louder as he got closer to it, and the corridor veered sharply to the right.
He leaned against the bulkhead, signaling for the rest to halt as he took a small device out of his belt and stretched it out, the flexible metal curving into the shape he wanted. He angled it around the bulkhead and pressed on the end of it.
The camera function activated, and a small hologram appeared in front of him. He could see down the tunnel without exposing himself, and he moved the camera around before focusing on the opening at the end of the corridor.
There was light coming out of it, and that seemed to be the source of the human music, the alien-sounding chanting and the frenetic beat giving him chills. There were no signs of booby traps or danger, and he turned the corner, sighting his pistol at the brighter opening as he headed towards it.
His combat boots made no noise, and he continued alone, the others still waiting around the corner for Khan to give them the signal to join him. He reached the opening and peered in, trying to limit how much he exposed his head.
The music was very loud now, and it was starting to annoy the shit out of him as it drowned out all other sounds and prevented him from hearing possible danger. He leaned into the opening a little more, sighting his pistol as he shifted his gaze around the small compartment.
He froze as he saw a body on the floor, only able to see the bottom half of the scaly brown skin from his vantage point. He pointed the pistol at it and waited, counting to thirty. It did not move at all, and he steeled himself as he finally passed entirely through the opening.
There was a bank of equipment blocking his view of the upper portion of the Balrikan body on the floor, and he crouched behind it before peeking out. He finally saw the upper torso and head of the Balrikan as it was lying face down on the metal deck.
It was not moving at all, and it was in a puddle of brown and red fluid. He moved closer, and now he could see the red fluid oozing out of its face. He stared at its torso area for a few moments, and he could see the faintest rising and lowering of its body as it breathed.
It was still alive but seemed to be unconscious. He reached down to the belt and pulled out the stunner with his left hand as he kept the pistol pointed at the center mass of the Balrikan.
He triggered the stunner, and the Balrikan twitched once. He triggered the stunner one more time for good measure, and this time the Balrikan didn’t twitch at all. It was out cold now, or maybe even dead.
He stood back up, his heart slamming in his chest, and backed out of the compartment before hurrying back down the corridor. He signaled for them to follow and lead them back to the compartment.
Yuri gasped at the sight of the Balrikan on the floor as Khan ordered the hacker to find a way to shut off the annoying music. The others scanned the small compartment as he and Yuri took out ties and tried their best to avoid getting the Balrikan bodily fluids on their gloves as they tied it up.
It was still breathing, and Khan looked around the compartment in excitement as he realized that they were going to be getting their bounty after all. The music finally turned off, and the hacker reached into her bag before placing several small scanners on different panels.
He sent Yuri with two others to clear the rest of the ship, though he doubted there were any other Balrikans in the small vessel. A minute later, Yuri returned to the compartment and reported the rest of the ship clear.
Smiling widely, Yuri grabbed Khan in a crushing bear hug as the others smiled at the sight of the stern quartermaster expressing pure joy.
“Captain, we are really going to collect on the bounty! I can’t believe our good fortune; I really didn’t think we would be able to do this, yet here we are, with a ship and a living captive.”
Khan was smiling as well and was just about to reply when a bright flash of light came through the two small, tinted portholes behind the panels and briefly illuminated the dim compartment. Khan’s smile faded as his comm node erupted with the sound of panicked yelling.
“Captain, three Republic ships just flashed out and surrounded us! They are locking weapons on us!"