Chapter 14: The Ambush of Paradiso Two Part 1

Five days would pass...

The Lifen’s bridge carried a form of tension that filled the air. Even with the time allotted to prepare, the fact remained that Javier knew that this could be a battle that would end in everyone’s lives. Perhaps the pirates wouldn’t show up at all. Maybe they knew the Ajusco was just a trap.

The XO sat strapped to his main console seat in preparation for the maneuvers that were to take place. Shira wasn’t going to be there to stand beside him. Her location was elsewhere. The same could be said for the rest of the marines that resided in the lower decks of the Lifen lander. The rest of the crew had assumed battle stations.

The gate ring in front of the Lifen was powering up. The spinning vortex was developing.

“Sir,” Patterson reported from his console. “The Ajusco’s distress beacon is fully active. Reports at least two ships closing in on her.”

“Alright,” Javier replied. “Marcelle, status of the gate?”

“About 15% completion and forming,” she replied from her station.

Javier turned to look at Amelia. “I hope that door is working alright.”

“I checked it twice, sir,” the engineer replied from her station. “It’ll work.”

“Bridge to Hangar Deck,” Javier called on the comms. “Are the missiles ready?”

“The missiles are ready to launch,” Ramirez said.

Javier looked at the status of the Lifen. It was set in an unusual position where its rear engine thruster was pointing toward Valradena’s gate ring. Technically, space didn’t care how a ship traveled. As long as it didn’t meet a solid object or a gravitational well, the Lifen was free to travel the way it wanted. It would be the only way the ship would be able to deploy its missiles without the threat of flooding the bay with fast-moving meteoroids.

“Marcelle, you ready for possible evasive maneuvers backwards?” Javier asked her.

“Don’t worry, sir,” Marcelle said with a smile. “The nice thing with these controls is that they’re reversible. Our butt might as well be our face.”

Patterson shook his head. “Our first actual battle, and we’re heading in with our ass pointed at the bad guys,” the officer said.

“Gate is at 25% and climbing. We’ll be ready to fly in at about four minutes.”

Javier looked over at Seaman Orlando. He was the least experienced of the bridge crew operating the weapons console beside Marcelle’s station. However, the XO knew that the man was ready for this. Javier looked down, took a deep breath, and tapped the main communications panel. The ship’s speakers activated on all decks.

“Attention, all onboard the Lifen,” Javier said. “In about a few minutes, we will jump into Paradiso Two. The Ajusco is already under attack by two unknown vessels. It looks like the pirates have taken the bait. We will head in at our best acceleration and close into weapons range. I don’t need to remind everyone that this won’t be like the training drills. They’ll either cut and run, or they’ll try to engage us. The pirates may seem disorganized, but they’ve survived this long. We can’t underestimate them, but I also know that all of you have worked your way up to this point. You’ve done an admirable job in past trials and even played a role in defeating a simulated Itrean attack fleet.” The XO held back for a moment before finally saying it. “In the name of the UHN, let’s kick some ass. All stations, I want your final status before we head in.”

“Yeah...,” Orlando said with a nod and smile while briefly looking at the XO.

“Flight deck, all systems green,” Ramirez replied back on the console.

“Engineering team one, go,” a male voice echoed.

“Engineering team two, green,” another male voice said.

In the deck below the main bridge of the Lifen lander, Stone stood with at least five marines and three Itreans. He, like the other marines, was decked out in their power armor suits. These mighty pieces of technology were the apex of human combat engineering and protection. They were completely enclosed environments to prevent any unexpected demise due to any compromise with the surrounding scene. Each person looked like a walking piece of brown, reddish metal.

They were little more than walking tanks, with a clear bulletproof window at the helmet. Inside, Stone could see all the status screens. This allowed him to see most of the squad’s viewpoint as well. Status bars would also indicate the health and condition of each of the suits, including his own. In most of the marine’s hands were large machine guns capable of firing heavy caliber rocket-propelled rounds onto a target. Camera units would also assist in the marine targeting computers to ensure that the marines could hit their targets. An ammo belt fed the weapon system via a disk unit behind the marine’s back. Stone carried a similar weapon as well, along with his heavy handgun and bowie knife, which he holstered to the side for emergency use. The zero gravity made it all the more easier. The marines consisted of Enlai, Dariea, Gavrill, and at least two of the Paloran-supplied marines.

Standing beside Stone was Ioren. She had been in her green wrap armor. Unlike the thick human marine armor, the Itrean Yutilians and Aksren preferred their lighter metal suits. It fully covered their bodies to ensure that they, too, could handle whatever hostile environment existed. Ioren, for the most part, practically appeared as a metal-encased anthro reptilian woman. The suit even adjusted to the fact that she had breasts or other curvatures to her body. Her head was neatly encased, showing her row of enclosed feathers, giving the appearance of tiny metal razorblades, and her hands offered the metal tips of claws. In her hand was her submachine pistol.

Girsha’lar was also present, standing behind the marines. She didn’t have any wrap armor available, but she did have a fully built lever action rifle in her possession. Her green and purple uniform also showed a few strange syringes on her side hip. The gun was shiny, consisting of bright grays, a customized forend, and a short barrel. On the top was a small optic scope. The magazine tube below the barrel was actually longer than the barrel. Despite the short barrel rifle, the Shal’rein constructed rifle was still quite big by human standards.

Last but not least was Nir’vina, not far from Girsha’lar. Much like Girsha’lar, Nir’vina didn’t have any form of protection except her uniform. She didn’t appear to carry any weapons, with the exception of the plethora of various devices wrapped around her belt. On her left arm was some sort of interface tablet wrapped around her wrist. Both of the Shal’rein women had their hair tied up to prevent them from floating around.

“I still can’t believe we didn’t get our wrap armor yet,” Girsha’lar said.

“Oh?...,” Nir’vina mocked her. “Poor Girsha’lar finally gets her wish but hates that she can’t have her armor. So busy making her gun.”

“Sucks...,” the Shal’rein complained. “That wrap armor shipment was delayed. We only needed another week. If only I had my battle rifle, I could cut through every raider. We can’t even participate in the boarding operations of that freighter.”

“Tsk, Tsk. And those large rods you’re carrying? Are you going to beat them to death?”

“My reloading syringes. How do you not know that? You’re a Shal’rein, for fuck’s sake.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Nir’vina patted her belt. “I focus on what’s more important. I made sure to pack well. A grenade for every occasion. Big booms, little booms, easy booms, booms that distract the booms, lots of booms. Explosions are what matters the most.”

“You still need a gun.”

“One with a grenade launcher.”

Girsha’lar rolled her shark-like eyes before turning to the marines. “After this fight...”

The ship-wide status report echoed through the passageways. The interior deck of the Lifen lander consisted of straightforward paths that led to various closed rooms on both sides, except the side bulkheads. Stone’s team resided in the area of the rearmost center, providing protection to the passageway leading to the rotating ring elevator and engine module.

“Marine team one ready,” Stone replied. The master sergeant had much to track on his helmet display screen. Marine team two, the largest of the ship’s teams, was in the rear section of the hangar deck below, ready to board the main UHN shuttle. Team three was on the other side of the current deck, past the sightline of Stone’s vision. A security team made up of armed crewmembers and remaining marines also resided in the centripetal ring habitat.

“Marine team, two, ready,” Ihan called out on the comms.

“Marine team, three, good to go,” Zalika said.

“Security Team is ready,” Isandro’s voice concluded.

The ship-wide comms came to an end. Stone looked at the five marines. Many of them were just talking to one another, bracing for whatever was to occur. However, a sense of nostalgia entered his mind. He remembered the prior training simulations conducted on this deck and how four recruits became marines in one day. He couldn’t express it to them, but as Ioren looked up at her mate, she could tell that the towering man was giving his own inflection of admiration. He remained stalwart, of course, but she knew the man respected their abilities.

Finally, Stone reached over to his left wrist and tapped a button on his control panel. He patched himself onto a communication feed so that the ship’s bridge, marines, and security team could hear him.

“Listen up!” Stone aggressively called out. The five marines near him immediately stopped talking and turned to look at him. “For the first time in years, we finally have a chance to stop the vile and decadent that runs through the UWA’s veins. Both Oshun and Palora have a cancer. One that requires us to fix. I want all of you to take a look at the display feeds of your comrades. This is the might of the UHN marines. Every day, I trained you, made sure that you were ready for this day, but today, it will be different. Today, none of that matters because it will be the pirates that will make the final decision. All of you have been instructed with your duties and tasks. The pirates will be waiting for us, or they’ll scour away. No matter what happens today, these criminals ... these terrorists will be stopped. They know their days are numbered. If they come for us, then we paint their remains on our bulkheads. The captain has made it clear. Unless the pirates are throwing up their hands in surrender, then we shoot first and ask questions later, for these people will show no mercy to you. I know the courage of some of you. I know that some of you were able to face the courage against the forgotten terrors of the Itrean’s enemies. Today, we take one more step. We purge this solar system of the rats that infest it. UHN Marines ... REDDER THAN BLOOD!”

“Blood for life!” all the marines yelled out on the comms. The five marines near him held their rifles close to them in various poses of admiration.

“Good hunting,” Stone concluded as he reached over to put himself on mute with the other teams.

“As to you, Master Sergeant!” Ihan exclaimed.

Back onboard the bridge, Javier looked upon the nearly formed artificial wormhole. The gate ring was glowing as the Lifen stood not far from it.

“Gate ring is at 100%,” Marcelle reported. “Adjusco’s computer also confirms gate formation in sensor range.”

“Valradena reports that they’re confirming gate ring alignment is complete,” Patterson added. “We’re ready to jump.”

Javier took a deep breath, knowing the upcoming fight could be brutal if Shira’s assessments were accurate.

“Take us in,” he ordered.

“Aye,” Marcelle replied.

“Attention all hands,” Patterson called out. “Brace for acceleration.”

The navigator activated the lander’s large stabilizing thrusters. They pointed forward of the bow. Large sets of blue flames erupted as the ship began moving backward. Inside the bridge, there was a large lurch forward. The XO could feel himself being tugged while the straps easily held him in place.

The Lifen’s bridge’s large screen showed the gate ring getting bigger and bigger. In less than twenty seconds, the entire ship was gaining speed. Everyone did their best as Marcelle held on.

“Little aggressive with the acceleration, aren’t we?” Javier joked with Marcelle.

“Sorry, sir,” Marcelle replied back. “I’ll see if I can ease up on it.”

“It’s alright.”

“Entering vortex in five ... four ... three ... two ... one.”

It happened quickly. The ship’s crew felt like they were in two places at once, even if it was only a split second. The Lifen flew through the aperture and instantly emerged from the other side. The screen changed from showing one set of asteroids to another different set. Marcelle slowed down the thrusters as it became easier to comprehend everything going on.

The screen was making sense of the surrounding scene. It was evident that they were in a new location in the asteroid belt. This section was much thicker and more dense. Even if there were few rocks from their jump point, small sets of thunks and dings could be heard reverberating from the outside.

“Gate jump complete,” Marcelle said. “Picking up the Ajusco and two ships.”

“Valradena is closing the gate behind us,” Patterson added. “At our current speed, we will reach the freighter in five minutes. Sir,” the officer looked at XO. “I can confirm an SK-7 freighter and another one docked with the Ajusco. Looks like we got both the Angolan Fury and the Gray Hawk ready to meet us.”

“And now we play our part,” Javier said. “Hail the Ajusco and let them know we’re here to render assistance for the ship.”

“Understood,” Patterson said. He radioed on the comms as he rehearsed. He actually lowered his voice some as he acted like a confident commercial captain.

“This is the Cerro Petosi,” Patterson explained. “We picked up your navigation beacon and heading your way. Looks like you already have help. We await your instructions on what’s broken down so our engineers are ready to help you. Do you still need our assistance?”

There was a pause as the bridge remained quiet. Javier could see the large ore freighter on the bridge feed. It was pretty large for a ship, possibly one of the largest commercial vessels ever constructed. Its spinning ring and flashing navigation lights were apparent as it hovered closely to a nearby rock. At the same time, the XO could see two other ships docked on either side of the Ajusco. The darker gray hulls of the pirate ships were obvious. There were signs of lingering metal corrosion due to the multitude of meteoroid impacts. At the same time, there were obvious hints of weapons on them. Javier knew, the “Cerro Petosi” had found its prizes. However, it now fell to their decision. Were the pirates going to cut and run, or were they going to continue their raid?

There were too many variables. The pirates were the definition of a cautious yet opportunistic people. There was a pattern to what they did, but they were also dangerous. However, there was still the sense that the Lifen could handle a few measly armed raider vessels. Sure, they were dangerous to civilian ships, but a military transport could readily handle them. It was most likely that the moment the pirates saw the Lifen, they would flee. It would have to be up to the light disguise to help dissuade the raiders from doing so, just long enough that they could disable them.

“XO,” Amelia called out. “Meteoroid impacts are increasing on the hull now that we left the confines of Paradiso Two. Advise that we slow down our acceleration.”

“I wouldn’t suggest that,” Patterson countered. “They’re scanning us. If we do that, the pirates may catch on that we’re not what we appear to be.”

Javier shook his head. “They might also think that we spot the illegal weapons mounted on their ships. Or they probably know that we ‘know’ that help is being rendered to the Ajusco and that we’re not needed. Let’s hope that one of those reasons helps us. Marcelle, do it.”

“Aye,” she replied back to him.

The Lifen’s vectoring thrusters of the lander cut out. At the same time, the rear engine activated as the Lifen began its slow advance in reducing speed. Instead of being pressed forward, Javier and the rest of the bridge crew felt their backs pressed to the back of their seats.

“Sir,” Patterson called out. “The Gray Hawk and the Angolan Fury are disconnecting from the Ajusco.”

The live feed screen showed the docking tubes from the ore freighter were retracting. Javier held his breath for a moment. Both the pirate ships were aimed in the vicinity of the Lifen’s direction.

“Amelia,” Javier said. “Open the bay door.

“Doors are opening, sir,” Amelia replied.

“Orlando began acquiring a firing solution for both ships.”

“Targeting, sir,” Orlando said.

Both pirate ships’ engines activated. Their rear plumes funneled into space as they began to accelerate.

“Status, Patterson,” Javier said.

“Their engines are active,” the officer replied. “They ... they’re heading towards us.” He tapped the mic and headphones near his ear. “We’re receiving a hail from the Gray Hawk.”

“Audio-only feed,” the XO directed. “I don’t want them to see our uniforms.”

“Patching it into your console.”

There was a short buzzing sound that echoed from Javier’s console. The rest of the crew remained quiet as a female voice echoed on the bridge. It carried a thick Portuguese accent to it.

“Attention ... Cerro Petosi, your ship came at the right time. My men are in need of your equipment. Surrender your ship and prepare to be boarded. I may promise a ‘safe’ plunder for your crew.”

“Who is this?” Javier asked her. “What is the meaning of this?”

“My name is Constancta. I command the Grey Hawk. What might be yours? Not that it matters much.”

“My name is Javier,” the XO answered truthfully. He quickly muted his microphone and looked at Orlando. “How much longer before we acquire a lock?”

“Firing solutions are set,” Orlando replied. “Bay doors are open. Ready to fire on your command.”

“Not yet,” Javier kept himself composed. “This has to be timed perfectly. We only have one shot with our missiles. If we’re not careful, we’ll have no choice but to engage them with our guns.”

It was a tricky scenario. It was easier to destroy these intruders. The Lifen was already equipped to handle these ships as it was. However, the admiralty and Shira both wanted to capture as many pirates alive as possible. It wasn’t necessarily out of mercy, but the fact that some of them might contain valuable information. However, it was a dangerous aspect. If the pirates were coming to the Lifen and attempting to board her, then the crew’s lives would be placed in jeopardy. It was also quite possible that many of them wouldn’t be taken alive, either. It simply came down to the aspect of surprise. If the pirates were lured into a false sense of security, then taking them alive was possible.

Javier unmuted his microphone. “Alright ... alright, don’t shoot us,” the XO acted in submission. “We surrender!”

“Good ... Any resistance or attempt to flee and we gut your crew piece by piece ... See you soon, Javier...”

The communication line was broken.

“Marcelle, come to a full stop,” Javier ordered.

“Aye,” she replied.

“The ships will dock with us in two minutes,” Patterson told the XO. “It doesn’t look like they’ve spotted our weapons.”

“They’ve completely fallen for it,” Javier remarked.

“I’ve been running complete scans of their ships. From what I can pick up, there appear to be over seventy individuals total from both ships. I can’t get any more detail than that. There might be more.”

“Is it possible we can still use our guns to disable them before they try to board us?”

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” Amelia answered, looking at the scan data on her console. “The pirates have rigged explosives connected to their power plants. If we start shooting at them, it may cause a chain reaction that will destroy them.”

“They don’t want to be captured alive, do they? Will the EMP still work?”

“The explosives utilize circuitry to operate. We use the EMP warheads. It will shut down their ability to self-destruct.”

“And the civilian ships aren’t rated to handle heavy EMP explosions. Let’s hope that Nir’vina’s toys will work. Patterson, how much longer?”

“One minute. I’m not detecting any other forms of sabotage equipment. Picking more lifeforms onboard ... the number is hitting almost ninety, so far.”

“That’s going to be a lot for our marine teams.” Javier patched in the internal ship speakers. “Attention all hands, two pirate ships are inbound. One minute before, they dock at our port and starboard hatches. Picking up almost 100 souls onboard. All teams, prepare for boarding and engagement.” He muted his comms.

The Lifen’s engines cut out as the ship came to a full but gradual halt. The inertia and acceleration pressed to everyone had stopped as zero gravity took over.

Javier looked at the bridge display. It was an impressive but terrifying sight. Two commercial relics, ships made of various constructions and jimmy-rigged to operate in the most ill of environments, were approaching the Lifen on both sides of the vessel. However, it was pirate engineering at its finest. Even with the hazards posed by the dense asteroid field, these ships had seemingly survived and maintained their operational status. Their guns were slowly rotating as they aimed at the Lifen. The Grey Hawk was first to reach the portside of the Lifen. Its vectoring thrusters activated as it slowed to a stop. The Angolan Fury, the crude rectangular transport, was next. It rotated its large four vectoring thrusters to a stop. Both ships were preparing to extend their docking sleeves to the Lifen. It was now or never. He could only hope that his and Shira’s plan would work. It had to...

“Amelia,” Javier looked over. “You ready?”

“It’s all set,” she replied. The hint of apprehension could be seen on her face. She was scared, hoping that everything would work according to her preparations.

The XO looked at the weapons console. “Orlando, fire!”

“Launching!”

“All hands,” Patterson called out on the ship’s comms. “Prepare for EMP blasts!”

Below, in the hangar deck, two collar sleeves held onto two sizeable munitions. Ramirez stood in his spacesuit, not far from the main open door. He could see the countless rocks hovering in the deep field. A sinister smile could be seen on his face as he held the tablet not far from his gloved hand. He pressed a button near his neck to shut down any electronics in his suit. It would only be needed for a few seconds. Meanwhile, he reached over and tapped the button. Both of the EMP missiles disconnected from the sleeves and hovered in the air before the engines began to ignite, sending them forward.

THUMP! THUMP! Everything happened down to sheer split seconds practically in unison. The lights in the vast open bay went dark. A split second later, the vacuum of space deadened the sounds of the explosions as Ramirez watched the bright blue glow of EMP warheads. There were no concussive shockwaves or anything that posed a danger for Ramirez as the fiery wreckage of the missiles flew out into the folds of space. From their appearance, the warheads had detonated inside the Lifen’s bay, sending an EMP shockwave that was neatly contained inside its bay and reverberating through the ship’s spine like a tidal wave.

The inside of the Lifen’s bridge had gone dark just before the blue shockwave funneled out of the maw of the open bay before dissipating into space. Every console, every display, every piece of equipment had gone dark. Javier shook his head. What had happened?

A button was pressed on the left wrist of Stone’s power armor. Immediately, his suit began to power up. The other marines followed suit as well, giving the lit lights of the helmeted visors.

The passageway in his deck was pitch dark for a few seconds. Suddenly, the red emergency lights turned on, giving some hint of illumination.

“Status report!” Stone called out.

There was a delay for a few seconds as the towering marine looked around. All the marines were able to turn their equipment back on. Girsha’lar and Nir’vina were fine. Ioren was doing a diagnostic on her wrap armor to see if it was all right.

“All team leaders report!” Stone repeated again.

“Team two,” Ihan said. “All but one of the power armor suits were able to turn back on. Dajuan’s suit is running on emergency batteries. Otherwise, no casualties.”

“Team three,” Zalika said. “No casualties. We’re good here.”

“Security team,” Isandro called in. “We’re good, Master Sergeant.”

“Report what you saw, team two,” Stone directed.

“I saw it from my position, Master Sergeant,” Ihan explained. “The two missiles were in the process of taking off when they suddenly exploded in the bay.”

“Is Petty Officer Ramirez alright?”

“We’re heading there now to confirm.”

“Negative. Remain there, marine. Remain on standby. The Grey Hawk and the Angolan Fury were most likely undamaged by the contained EMP explosion. They’ll close in a dock on both main starboard and port hatches. Most likely, the pirates will have reinforcements coming. Be ready to man that shuttle and repel any reinforcements that come pouring in.”

“Master Sergeant ... we were lucky. If it were a second longer, I wouldn’t have had enough time to shut off my suit.”

“Team one, this is team three,” Zalika reported. “We’re picking up cutting sounds from hatchway 2-B.”

“Take up a safe position and engage, Sergeant. Team one, we’re heading to Hatchway 5-E! Corporal Matias,” he pointed to the center crossroad in Deck 2. “Take Gavrill, Dariea, and Enlai and hold the center crosswalk. I’m designating you as Team Four. Provide fire support for Team Three and Team One. Move out!”

“Aye, Master Sergeant,” the Paloran marine replied. “Let’s move!”

“Just like the simulations!” Gavrill yelled out in pride. “Gavrill’s going to mow them down with my grenades!”

“Yeah!” Girsha’lar held her rifle up in cheer.

“Shut the fuck up and keep the comm chatter to mission priority only!” Stone told the new marines as they began to separate. “Follow Corporal Matias’ orders, and for fucks sake, don’t get caught in the pirates’ crossfire.” The master sergeant pointed to his right. “Team one, let’s go!”

“Amelia, status?” Javier asked her.

“The program worked, sir,” the chief engineer said with relief. “The ship’s computers, power module, and equipment were triggered to deactivate the moment the missile’s launch were made. Bridge consoles are running on emergency batteries. I can power everything up on your command.”

“No,” the XO stated. “Not yet. We still have one last thing to confirm.”

There was a beeping sound that echoed on Javier’s console. He turned to it and activated it. The XO also switched the live feed so the two could see each other as they communicated.

The display screen showed that of a woman. It was none other than Constantca. Her glowing red eyepiece could be seen from the lit background of her bridge. Her clothes consisted of ragged synthetic leather with a black skull logo jerkin. She sat on her strapped chair as the crooked smile appeared on her face. She even went as far as to lick her blackened teeth.

“There you are,” Constancta said in her heavily accented English. “You think that I am that stupid, Officer Javier? My men are on their way to take your ship ... a military ship, no doubt. I have crippled you, all thanks to the traitor that hides in your midst. You failed to disable our ships, and now ... the Lifen will be mine.”

Javier had a big smile that appeared on his face as the Gray Hawk’s captain gloated. The tiniest hint of doubt could be seen in Constancta, but it quickly turned to a smile.

“Constancta, you’re nothing but a petty thug,” Javier replied.

“You think that your crew can repel the combined forces of the Gray Hawk and the Angolan Fury?” the female captain slapped her armchair rest. She tapped the panel on her armrest. “Lobo 1, Lobo 2, Lobo 3! Novan Wolfpack, seize the Lifen and kill everything you find!”

“Sir,” Patterson quietly told him. “I’m picking up three additional readings in the deep field. Pirate shuttles inbound to our location.”

The situation looked grim. The Gray Hawk and the Angolan Fury were ready to pour their soldiers into the Lifen. Even now, the Lifen marines were going to have their hands full. At the same time, the shuttles probably carried even more of their men.

“I think not,” Javier defiantly told her. “You underestimate my crew.”

“That’s what they all say,” Constancta said. “Your ship is disabled. Today, I get two prizes, a glory for the Nova Hamidou Pirates that will be remembered for eons. The asteroid field will be ours!”

“And my marines?”

There was a pause in Constancta’s speech. It was almost as if all her confidence was starting to slip away. For a second, she even wondered if Javier was bluffing her.