Co-authored by Ray of Meep (GM), Acewing13, Ikate Keda Studios, TheCountryWarrior
???? A.D., 84 hours after Edith Dussault's interrogation
High orbit of Daimler, aboard the Holsteiner
The Lancers were in the relatively cramped quarters of the stealth corvette. Eberhard was dressed properly in a vac-rated suit, his helmet hanged off his belt and floated in midair while he maglocked himself to the floor. The Holsteiner already decoupled from Daheim One a few hours ago, while the mothership itself hid on the local, friendly law enforcement spaceport, having revealed its location on Castle Services by the weapons dealer Edtih Dussault before her passing.
Once the crew gathered around him, Eberhard lit up a 3D hologram in the middle of them, showing the local Daimler dwarf planetary system. On it was highlighted several objects: the dwarf planet itself, Castle Services and an unfamiliar Volksschiff-class coming out of the spaceport, with its predicted trajectory out of the system illustrated, the Holsteiner on intercept course.
Eberhard didn't waste time before starting the briefing. "Based on the port number she [Edith Dussault] gave us, we managed to link it to a supply frigate by the name of Gluck, 'Good fortune.'"
"The vessel was registered to deliver food and water to the spaceport; nothing suspicious there, nor in its available travel logs. We're going to do a breach-and-board again, as we did with Matchstick: neutralize hostiles, commandeer the vessel, keep at least one person alive for interrogation. The ship's schematics have been sent to your PDB's, though given the short notice, the information on hand isn't as well-verified. Given it's a Volksschiff, we anticipate its security systems will be better than Matchstick's. Just stay adaptable, as usual."
Joan looked at the Hologram, but no one could see her face. She never took her helmet off on the Corvette.
Beatrix on the other hand had her helmet at her side, while focusing on her PDB. "By security systems, are you talking about the ship-to-ship weapons or more internal measures?" she asked, looking up at Eberhard.
"It'll likely to be both." Eberhard replied. "By default, Volksschiffs carry anti-ship and anti-ballistic missiles to discourage piracy. High profile targets, like our own Daheim, have PDC placements and the sensor suites to make them effective. That's less of a concern though, since we'll be intercepting them under the best stealth conditions possible this time. The main problem for you guys will be the internal security. The hull will be rad hardened, meaning wireless communications to the outside will be blocked unless you have an external transponder. The whole structure tougher in general, which means you'll need a longer time breaching. The more complete sensor suite allows for better preparation against boarders, and every bulkhead in the command module and engine modules are doubled up."
"Dat's nerve wracking," Joan said crossing he arms slowly to avoid floating off. "Ah mean, once inside we'll 'ave ta blow our way frough each bulk'ead," She said, rubbing her arms. "I jus' can' 'elp bu' fink dey knah we're comin. We're gonna 'ave ta pull somefin ou' ov an 'at," She added looking over the hologram some more. "We should do dis as if we are 'ryin ta sneak up on dem under a spo'ligh'. I don' like i' bu' dat's wha' ah fink."
"Agreed." Eberhard nodded. "Blenda and I will go through the routine of disabling their outer defenses first. We'll have our RCS on standby and get ready for maneuvering as we get in range. Once you're inside, the Holsteiner won't be able to assist without you laying down comms." He then offered, "Do you want me to come with you guys this time?"
"No," Joan said quickly. "We need you 'ere. I jus' knah dis isn' gonna be as flawless as our las' 'oo missions. We need ta keep dis 'igh' as possible. Got it?" She asked, looking at Beatrix and Juan.
Bee nodded back before looking at the hologram again. "Did we bring enough explosives? Might want to chuck grenades in everytime we clear a room," she said.
"I've got my fair share of them." Juan had been quiet, helmet on his head as he mentally prepared himself. "So we're doing an individualist siege. Meaning we're gonna be blowing doors down almost as much as we're shooting the enemy. Not impossible, but definitely subpar. We'll be fine guys, this one's just another test of mettle. They don't stand a fucking chance."
An hour later, as the Lancers waited in the storage bay, the Holsteiner’s engine whirled to life beneath them, and red alert lights lit up. “Commencing flyby. Engine online, weapons online. Communication scramblers, launched. Maneuvering to match enemy trajectory.” Blenda informed through the speakers.
The corvette’s PDCs roared in several second bursts, the RCS thrusters pushing and pulling the ship and those onboard in seemingly random directions. After a few minutes of cacophony and a minute of silence afterwards, the lights turned yellow, before the ship came to a relative stop, then green, as the airlock opened up, revealing the Gluck’s battered command module in front of the Lancers, and the rest of the ship stretching further “downwards”.
Besides the many holes in the missile pods, the now non-existent point defense cannons, and the engine module down below that’s now leaking fuel; it was a familiar site, with the overall structure an almost 1-to-1 replica of Daheim One, but with traditional GDW colors of turquoise and grey, with the Silbern system’s own color, white, as an accessory. The command module before the Lancers had the size of an AU suburban home, fitted with the now dysfunctional missile pods, sensor arrays, RCS thrusters, and two airlocks, one on each side.
Bee kicked off into the black, looking at the exterior of the enemy ship as she drifted towards it. “Does this thing have power still?” she asked, keeping an eye out for any movement or other activity.
“If they haven’t skimped out on spending, then the Gluck should still have auxiliary power through its fuel cells.” Eberhard informed them while comms were still available.
???? A.D., 84 hours after Edith Dussault's interrogation
High orbit of Daimler, aboard the Holsteiner
The Lancers were in the relatively cramped quarters of the stealth corvette. Eberhard was dressed properly in a vac-rated suit, his helmet hanged off his belt and floated in midair while he maglocked himself to the floor. The Holsteiner already decoupled from Daheim One a few hours ago, while the mothership itself hid on the local, friendly law enforcement spaceport, having revealed its location on Castle Services by the weapons dealer Edtih Dussault before her passing.
Once the crew gathered around him, Eberhard lit up a 3D hologram in the middle of them, showing the local Daimler dwarf planetary system. On it was highlighted several objects: the dwarf planet itself, Castle Services and an unfamiliar Volksschiff-class coming out of the spaceport, with its predicted trajectory out of the system illustrated, the Holsteiner on intercept course.
Eberhard didn't waste time before starting the briefing. "Based on the port number she [Edith Dussault] gave us, we managed to link it to a supply frigate by the name of Gluck, 'Good fortune.'"
"The vessel was registered to deliver food and water to the spaceport; nothing suspicious there, nor in its available travel logs. We're going to do a breach-and-board again, as we did with Matchstick: neutralize hostiles, commandeer the vessel, keep at least one person alive for interrogation. The ship's schematics have been sent to your PDB's, though given the short notice, the information on hand isn't as well-verified. Given it's a Volksschiff, we anticipate its security systems will be better than Matchstick's. Just stay adaptable, as usual."
Joan looked at the Hologram, but no one could see her face. She never took her helmet off on the Corvette.
Beatrix on the other hand had her helmet at her side, while focusing on her PDB. "By security systems, are you talking about the ship-to-ship weapons or more internal measures?" she asked, looking up at Eberhard.
"It'll likely to be both." Eberhard replied. "By default, Volksschiffs carry anti-ship and anti-ballistic missiles to discourage piracy. High profile targets, like our own Daheim, have PDC placements and the sensor suites to make them effective. That's less of a concern though, since we'll be intercepting them under the best stealth conditions possible this time. The main problem for you guys will be the internal security. The hull will be rad hardened, meaning wireless communications to the outside will be blocked unless you have an external transponder. The whole structure tougher in general, which means you'll need a longer time breaching. The more complete sensor suite allows for better preparation against boarders, and every bulkhead in the command module and engine modules are doubled up."
"Dat's nerve wracking," Joan said crossing he arms slowly to avoid floating off. "Ah mean, once inside we'll 'ave ta blow our way frough each bulk'ead," She said, rubbing her arms. "I jus' can' 'elp bu' fink dey knah we're comin. We're gonna 'ave ta pull somefin ou' ov an 'at," She added looking over the hologram some more. "We should do dis as if we are 'ryin ta sneak up on dem under a spo'ligh'. I don' like i' bu' dat's wha' ah fink."
"Agreed." Eberhard nodded. "Blenda and I will go through the routine of disabling their outer defenses first. We'll have our RCS on standby and get ready for maneuvering as we get in range. Once you're inside, the Holsteiner won't be able to assist without you laying down comms." He then offered, "Do you want me to come with you guys this time?"
"No," Joan said quickly. "We need you 'ere. I jus' knah dis isn' gonna be as flawless as our las' 'oo missions. We need ta keep dis 'igh' as possible. Got it?" She asked, looking at Beatrix and Juan.
Bee nodded back before looking at the hologram again. "Did we bring enough explosives? Might want to chuck grenades in everytime we clear a room," she said.
"I've got my fair share of them." Juan had been quiet, helmet on his head as he mentally prepared himself. "So we're doing an individualist siege. Meaning we're gonna be blowing doors down almost as much as we're shooting the enemy. Not impossible, but definitely subpar. We'll be fine guys, this one's just another test of mettle. They don't stand a fucking chance."
An hour later, as the Lancers waited in the storage bay, the Holsteiner’s engine whirled to life beneath them, and red alert lights lit up. “Commencing flyby. Engine online, weapons online. Communication scramblers, launched. Maneuvering to match enemy trajectory.” Blenda informed through the speakers.
The corvette’s PDCs roared in several second bursts, the RCS thrusters pushing and pulling the ship and those onboard in seemingly random directions. After a few minutes of cacophony and a minute of silence afterwards, the lights turned yellow, before the ship came to a relative stop, then green, as the airlock opened up, revealing the Gluck’s battered command module in front of the Lancers, and the rest of the ship stretching further “downwards”.
Besides the many holes in the missile pods, the now non-existent point defense cannons, and the engine module down below that’s now leaking fuel; it was a familiar site, with the overall structure an almost 1-to-1 replica of Daheim One, but with traditional GDW colors of turquoise and grey, with the Silbern system’s own color, white, as an accessory. The command module before the Lancers had the size of an AU suburban home, fitted with the now dysfunctional missile pods, sensor arrays, RCS thrusters, and two airlocks, one on each side.
Bee kicked off into the black, looking at the exterior of the enemy ship as she drifted towards it. “Does this thing have power still?” she asked, keeping an eye out for any movement or other activity.
“If they haven’t skimped out on spending, then the Gluck should still have auxiliary power through its fuel cells.” Eberhard informed them while comms were still available.