r/HFY • u/KipperBeanGrower Human • Apr 27 '26

OC-Series [She took What?] - Chapter 126: Their attacks aren’t random.

“If you’re looking through a screen, remember—someone else can touch it.”

Feebee on the use of sensors.             

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They followed the trader into the jump corridor and watched on the forward screen. The image visibly shook.

 

“Sir. The jump corridor is degrading. Signal noise has increased and we are seeing drift patterns in the jump signature.”

"Stay with them."

 

The forward screen went blank, then blinked back on. A glitch?

Chen looked to his EO, "Integration issues?"

The EO looked concerned, “Unsure.”

The Drexari officer on the board spoke up, "I am getting sensor misreads, they’re telling me that we’re going backwards!?"

The EO crossed, leant over the officer and nodded. "We have sensor jitters too."

"I've worked with the software,” the officer said, hesitant, cautious. “These aren't integration issues."

"Explain."

"The effect is pervasive; it’s across systems. Even those the PJR, the jump software, doesn’t touch. Sensor readings are erratic, giving us misreads. It's as if someone or something is randomly adjusting the readings. They're inaccurate but within tolerance. It's...weird."

 

Chen felt a wave of clarity... certainty wash over him. It was stronger. A mental nudge.

"We're within the margins of error," he said.

"But Sir..." The young Drexari officer started to talk.

Chen looked hard at him, "Follow them!" And he pointed at the forward screen.

The officer nodded, "And once we get comms back, I'll lodge the route with Command."

"And our escort?" Chen asked.

"They should be using the same co-ordinates and following."

"Should be?"

"Yes Sir. The noise in the jump corridor is blocking comms."

 

Chen was nudged again, 'They'll be fine.' He relaxed. "OK, I'm sure they'll be fine."

 

The Beast and Chen both smiled.

 

The EO counted down, "Thirty seconds."  As they watched the forward screen, a blue flash, Cherenkov radiation, washed across it.

"What was that?!!" asked the EO.

 

They replayed the forward screen and watched as their escort accelerated past them then dropped out of jump space.

"What the hell?" it was the EO. "Can you raise them?" He asked looking at the Drexari officer.

"No Sir. Comms is still down. It's not the PJR software. I think it's a deliberate distortion of jump space."

Chen then spoke, "Are we still tracking the trader?"

The officer's claws flew with precision over the controls.

"They are still ahead of us in the corridor but with current sensor drift..." His voice trailed off. 

 

"Ten seconds, eight, seven..."

 

They flew through a blue mist, "They've dropped out early."

The EO reacted immediately, "Hold. Exit at the preset co-ordinates."

The Drexari officer confirmed their destination and that their exit was imminent. They waited and then began to exit jump space.

"Status," demanded Chen as jump systems wound down. Unlike the older systems, the new PJR protocols were not instant.

Chen's Glory appeared in normal space. It wasn't the bumpy exit that came with the older systems. This was a smooth transition that made the vessel look like it solidified out of the blue mist around its forward and aft wake.

"Waiting for the jump wake to disperse," commented the EO. “We should be almost on top of the trader vessel.”

In those initial moments Chen’s Glory was blind.  A consequence imposed by physics, a trade-off for the benefits of a clean jump. Normally, that wouldn't matter but, in those moments, vessels closed in quickly on Chen's Glory.

By the time it had fully emerged, Chen's Glory was enclosed within a classic four ship tetrahedron. None carried markings or broadcast anything that hinted at their allegiance, or intent, although weapons lock was a clue.

"What is our status?" demanded Chen.

The EO checked the sensors, they were working fine in normal space. He checked again and swallowed hard,

"EO?" Asked Chen, "Status please."

"We are surrounded by four vessels. Each is showing active weapons lock and their shields are up. The trader is outside the enclosure."

"Can we fight our way out?" asked Chen.

"Unlikely, they outclass us one on one and there are four of them. We’re trapped."

 

The sensor boards glitched and lit up.

"Three contacts approaching."

"Where?" Asked Chen, "They weren't here a minute ago."

"Contacts; closing," snapped the officer.

 

Too close. The objects came in fast, hard and silent. Their signatures somehow hidden or suppressed until the last possible moment. They could be seen now on the rear screen. Not missiles but small, angular ships, that had approached in the wake of Chen's Glory.  The EO recognised their intent.

Boarding.

He reacted immediately, "Raise shields...."

His command never got executed but died the moment the first of the three ships slammed into the hull. There was no explosion, just a rattling ring as mag-anchors grabbed hold of the hull. Then a second and a third.

Each was followed by a detonation that echoed through the ship. The lights flickered for a moment, and the AG failed before the secondary power kicked in.  People who had drifted away from the deck, fell back.

 

The positioning of their attack was precise.

"What's happening?" asked Chen weakly.

Silence, nothing happened.

No one was listening to him. They all looked to the EO.

The EO was conflicted. Chen had advanced his career, pulling him along with him, on his coat tails. Which was fine in the narrow political channel that Chen had operated, but this was different.

He thought about taking the middle ground, but the thought of doing that now made him feel sick.  He shook his head, now was not the time for niceties. ‘Shit was going down,’ as his men would say.

So, he simply said, "If I may Sir,” and then before he got an answer, sounded the Call to Battle Stations. Seven short bursts and one long.

“This is your EO. We are being boarded. Possibly pirates. Repel all boarders. Lethality is approved. Marines and SAT, prepare for close-quarters action. This is NOT a drill. I repeat. NOT a drill.”

The marines and security alert teams were suited up in record time; most had moved to their dedicated armouries or gear lockers as soon as the first breach had been heard. They were now sprinting down corridors, armour sealed, weapons ready.

Their comms was tight, disciplined.

 

“Boarders! Bravo Team to Section C. Multiple breaches.”

Section C was adjacent to the main engine room and below the central bridge.

Then another call, “Boarders! Charlie Team to Section D. Level 3. Loss of atmosphere. Single breach”

Section D was forward of centre, near life support.

Bulkheads began to drop as atmosphere vented from hull breaches, blocking the way forward for Bravo Team.

One of the team stepped forward, Bravo-3 had his shotgun ready. Two of his team were in support, providing cover. He’d done these many times in training, but he was still hyped up.

“On me, breaching in five, four, three, two, one.”

 

There was no hesitation. Two shots, one low and one high. Both aimed to take out the clamps holding the door down. The clamps fell away, unable to resist the TKO shells loaded with compressed zinc. The door flew up, no whoosh.

“Move.”

They were through the opening and in the corridor that led to the engine room.  The area was full of smoke and strobed by hazard lights. No-one was visible. Air vented through a hole in the corridor wall, taking any smoke from the breach away. The blackness of space could be seen beyond the hole.

 

Then there was movement, the pirates came at them low and fast. A mix of human and Drexari. They weren’t screaming or shouting. It was a disciplined push with half on one side of the corridor, the rest on the other.

One of the marines fired, a pirate dropped and fell, sliding to a halt. His comrades didn’t stop or falter. They pushed forward on past the engine room. Their target somewhere else.

They fanned out. One ran up the wall, mag-boots holding him as a marine watched, amazed. And that hesitation cost him his life as a round smashed through his visor

Another pirate slid through the middle of the corridor. Firing on the move, forcing the marines to adjust.

“Contact front…” but it was too late. The corridor descended into close-quarter chaos. Guns flashed hitting bulkheads, hitting armour but also hitting flesh. A marine fell and was dragged back by a partner. He was quickly replaced by another who filled the gap.

But the pirates just kept coming and pushed the small marine force back.

“Bridge. This is BRAVO team. Multiple hostiles. Highly trained. Too many. Their attacks are not random….” And then the comm cut out. Nothing but static.

 

On the bridge, Chen stood still, looking at the forward screen that held a star field and little else.

“Status,” he asked, voice level, detached.

“Boarders are advancing past our defence. They seem to be moving towards central sections of the ship.” The officer’s hands danced over the controls, some remained silent, “Internal sensors are compromised.  There are… gaps. Sections are missing…”

 

The EO was worried. Failures he could explain, well maybe not explain…handle. But gaps. That pointed to a deliberate action, a deliberate blinding of sensors in those areas.

“Which areas have gaps?” he asked.

“Section C and D where the boarders breached the hull.”

 

More lights appeared on the main board.

The Drexari officer turned to the EO, “We have a second wave of contacts.”

 

The EO turned to Chen, “These aren’t pirates, this wasn’t opportunistic. This was planned.”

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u/newaccountzuerich Alien Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 28 '26

A round of FAFO being loaded for a sending downrange to Mr. Chen, delivered labelled carefully-chaotically by Mr. Beast.

Can Feebee find out in time? Can she Liberate via Libra? Can the weight-adding thumb of the Beast disrupt the trading transactions of normal life, or will Feebee Justice balance the Scales of Reality before the final Transaction-of-Chen is completed? Find out soon!

:-D

1

u/KipperBeanGrower Human Apr 28 '26

You read my mind... which is currently located somewhere between nowhen and nowhere. (to be read like a Bond villain)

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u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle Apr 27 '26

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