3: Mining Laser Retrieval Crew
Mining Laser Retrieval Crew
4000.03.28 010:07 UniTi - US Emberhawk, Cargohold
"Alright, gear up and be prepared for anything!," Zev's voice booms across the cargohold as the crew prepares for battle, "Our target is an abandoned ruin to the north of the Port. It's 27 U Ms out, but there's a no-fly zone around the Port itself so we'll have to take a skimmer, which is gonna take us a bit over an hour round trip. Time is of the essence here as the Governor needs this job done today."
"We're looking for an experimental mining laser. Don't know much but it looks like this," he raises a schematic and sends a photo to every crew's HUD, "and should be somewhere toward the center of town. This thing is gonna be HEAVY so whoever is in position pick it up then high tail it back to the skimmer, everyone else provide covering fire."
"What so special about mining laser? Why not buy new one?" Lira asks in her hard-to-place accent.
"Good question Lira, I'm not going to pretend to know. Something fancy about mining rocks on this planet better - what I do know is it's worth 8 credits for us! And there's some wreckage from the last crew we may be able to salvage"
"Last crew?" Silas asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Look, this is too many questions. Get your gear and let's go - final answer you'll hear from me: yes there was another crew of spacers. They failed. They died. We won't. Get your gear and we'll talk in the skimmer. We depart in 5."
"The plan, what is the plan?" Dravik asks nervously, this being his first action with the crew, or ever?
"Well, the Cap'n has used all his words for the day - he gotta pay for them by the letter like them galaxy mail services"
"Did you say galaxy male? Juni, didn't know you were into those order husbands," Dax quips as he puts on his boots.
"Ha, ha Dax. Galaxy M-A-I - you know what, forget it. What's important is I have the plan so listen up people! We're going to approach from the south, this area is mighty covered due to the ruins and rubble - that's both good for us and good for our opponents.
We're going to form two groups, fan out, and search the place while trying to stay in cover. We don't got any fancy scanners on, y'know account of us being poor, so we're gonna use them Nova blessed scanners in yer heads to look for the prize. Stay.in.cover."
"But Ms. Juniper, I don't have any scanners in my head!" Dravik voices his concern, and is met with a chuckle from the crew.
"Yer EYES Dravik, yer EYES!" she responds with a hearty smile, "Now, let's move people!"
Abandoned Mining Town
The skimmer has on open top and Dax surveys the field as they approach, Zev wasn't kidding about the rubble - it's everywhere. Far more rubble, and cover, than most of the streetfights he'd been in - that screams danger to him.
The skimmer slows and Zev points forward, the unambiguous order to move forward. Despite their relative inexperience working as a team they all fan out in unison.
"Team 1, explore left. Team 2, explore right. Stay alert," Zev's orders come over the comms, his voice is sharp and locked in.
Team 1 was Dax, Silas, and Lira while Team 2 was Zev, Juniper, and Dravik.
Things immediately start going awry when Dravik, inexperienced as he is, doesn't break right enough, causing Juniper to follow him and leaving Zev alone on the right flank.
Dax curses as he jogs forward, nothing to be done about that now and Zev can take care of himself.
Team 1 stays together in a tight pattern, Dax leading the way with Silas and Lira close behind. They begin investigating the central building, when they hear a roar in the distance.
"SAND RIPPERS!" Zev yells over the comms, being the first to see the enemy, "Looks like 6 of them coming in fast!" The sound of his Infantry Laser powering up can be heard at the end of his message.
"Dravik, no, Dravik get in cover you idiot!" Juniper yells as the cephalopod meanders into an open corridor and then hesitantly walks back behind a wall.
Dax takes up cover on the far left of the formation, also taking cover behind a ruined wall.
Then the sand rippers come.
In an instant they've crossed the majority of the ruined town, their warbles and cries heard from all sides as they advance down the left, right, and center of the Riftrunner's formation, trying to encircle them.
Their sounds remind him of something he saw on a holo once... dinosaurs he thinks they were called. His train of thought is interrupted as the Sand Rippers press their attack, one coming within a dozen feet of him!
"...and I shall be that darklight, that devouring maw, for as the Abyss consumeth all, so shall I," Silas chants as he calmly walks out of cover, right into the open, and sends a Sand Ripper sprawling to the ground with a pistol shot.
"Great jo-" Dax begins but is cut off by a double report of shotgun fire from Juniper! He turns as the Rippers leap upon her, her shots having gone wide.
She fends off the first, blocking its fangs with the underbelly of her shotgun then knocking it out with an incredibly powerful uppercut. She raises her shotgun high like a club and brings it down on the second Ripper, but screams out in pain as it bites a hole in her leg a fist wide.
"Juniper!" multiple crew members yell at once.
Dax grits his teeth and motions for Lira to secure the mining laser - something she was already doing by the looks of it.
He breaks left, around the wall and into the open to support Silas, as she breaks right toward the building.
Dax aims, fires... and at the last second loses his grip! Somehow, the shot finds its mark and the Sand Ripper approaching Silas is torn asunder. Dax's visor moves left and right as he searches for more Sand Rippers but there don't appear to be any on the left flank.
"Silas, keep an eye out yonder, I'm going to help Cap," he commands, having become the de facto leader of Team 1 somehow.
Silas nods, continuing his chant.
Dax turns right to see Dravik fumbling with a fancy longrifle, trying to steady it with his tentacles - it would be comical if this weren't a life and death situation.
Zev's laser flashes red and another ripper goes down, two were trying to flank him, now down to one.
"GOT IT!" Lira shouts loudly over the comms, "EXTRACTING NOW," Dax hears her footsteps behind him but stays focused on the remaining Sand Rippers.
"Dax, we've got this," Zev cuts in, "You're best positioned to get some goodies over there - head up north into that other building. That's where Valona said the other team was found."
Dax thinks to protest but he holds his tongue and instead gives a crisp, "Affirmative," before heading north... by himself.
The next few seconds move past in a blur, Silas holding the left flank while Zev and Dravik tussle with some Sand Rippers until there's only one left.
"CLEAR!" Lira yells over comms, "Laser secured, should I return--"
"Negative Lira, negative. Secure the laser - just one ripper left." Zev commands, "Keep that skimmer warmed up."
Dax turns to see Dravik behind a broken down comms dish still fumbling with his rifle while Zev takes aim at the last ripper, which is charging him - and misses.
In a flash Dravik drops his oversized rifle, tentacles flailing about when... he produces not one but TWO Beam Pistols from his armor and calmly, professionally, takes aim - both shots finding their mark and melting holes where the Ripper's heart used to be.
Dravik then looks around, stows the guns, and picks up the rifle once more "fumbling" about with it...
"What in the stars...?" Dax says to himself before locating the other crew's... remaining gear. It's not a pretty sight, looks as if they were ambushed by Sand Rippers and it didn't go well for them.
"Ugh, gross," Dax rifles through some containers and finds a couple credit tabs. Unfortunately all of the weapons are DNA coded, as usual.
"Got the credits, you all good Cap?"
"Yeah, I got 'em. Though I missed but looks like I hit afterall, laser fire right in its heart."
"Yes, Captain very good shot! Good shot! Dravik miss all the time!" Dravik hastily adds
Something was going on here and Dax wasn't quite sure what yet but he kept his peace, he and the Captain could talk later.
"I got ya Juni," Zev's voice came over the comms with effort, as he lifted Juniper to her feet, "Everyone get ready to move out. Juni's leg is ripped up real good but she'll be okay, ain't that right Juni?"
"Yes Cap, sorry I just - I let 'em get too close and I missed, and shoot that didn't go so good."
"You alive, you kill two rippers. It go very well," Lira consoles, "Now get in skimmer and we leave."
And so they do, returning to the Emberhawk with their prize in hand.
* * *
"Governor Valona, good news. We've got your laser. Kindly send someone to the Emberhawk to pick it up, we'll be there in 30 minutes." Zev messages the Governor on the direct channel she'd provided.
"Glittering gems! Truly? This is fantastic news! I'll send Isa and a small crew, your credits will be deposited once she has the item."
"Roger, Governor, we'll meet her there - oh and watch out for them OS Mining Co. folks, don't seem the kindest sort."
"Understood Captain Zev, and uh... my name is Valona, not Roger."
Zev chuckles as he looks over his ragtag crew - tired but victorious. "Copy that."
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