To Hell and Back (Hellworlder pirates)

Ch24 Boarding Actions

Boarding Actions

Alwen cleaned the captain's wound and checked her for any other less visible injuries, the maroon armor took on most of the damage but a little prodding revealed some bruised ribs and some clotted puncture wounds just a few centimeters away from a major artery, beyond that and the entire missing eye, Captain Astarte seemed fit and able. It made her wonder if the grenade had been underpowered, or if the captain was just that sturdy. She had access to her medical records, and she had noted with shock and a little discomfort all the extensive modifications. Micro lattice reinforcements along her skeleton, eight different material used to improve and enforce her ligaments. Artificial tendons and muscle tissue so advanced it toed the line between bionics and straight up artificially grown muscles tacked over her body, even more surprising was that it was all done without butchering her over a surgical table. Intravenous solutions and other abstract eldritch medical techniques Alwen had never heard of, had organically replaced her preexisting muscles with the artificial ones that acted as an upgrade in every metric. All cutting age advancements that were the pinnacle of Terran medical technology adapted from Union knowledge.

Most of the crew sported some sort of augmentation, the marines most of all. Which told Alwen that the three months she had spent getting to know Terrans and understanding their limits, marveling at their feats, wasn't exactly baseline Terran ability. They were even trying to persuade Alwen to do the same thing to her body, and despite the noninvasive treatment something about it rattled Alwen. If she replaced all her body with artificial muscles and tendons, would she still be Alwen, or the super lifelike machine that had now moved into her skin?

She knew that was a ridiculous thought since her brain and soul would still be Torweni. But something about it seemed like a step to far. A step she could never go back on.

The rest of the surviving Terrans had much less severe wounds, cuts, scrapes, bruises, and jittery nerves.

Another group joined them and the captain, without any other prompting, began to lead them through the twisty maze of subway sized tunnels. Their labyrinthine path required them to make leaps that shouldn't have been possible but under the lower effects of standard gravity, were easy to achieve. Only a few times did the group have to rely on their augmented muscles to cross, when that happened two Terrans would leap across and another two would boost Alwen across the fissure to be caught on the other side. They moved through the tunnels like trained acrobats and traversed the station far faster than going by normal means could ever achieve, even when the world outside wasn't on fire and in chaos.

They once passed a huddled and shivering group of terrified aliens who had found refuge in the tunnels. One shrieked as the Terrans bounded by, and they scrabbled at the door trying to get away. Alwen wondered what they had seemed like to them, deathworlders surely had a monstrous reputation amongst the galaxy. She would have reacted the same way if a flood of flying insects had burst through the tunnels as well. Their reaction still hurt though.

After only five minutes they burst out of hatch into the massive internal docking bay were gravity plating was only used along the walkways. The rest of the space was a zero-g expanse that allowed for ships to slip in and out with ease. Without hesitation Astarte leapt through the void at a shallow angle that would allow her to intercept with the small field of artificially generated gravity generated by a gargantuan freighter. She floated briefly before landing on the ships roof with a light step. Before Alwen had a chance to think she was tossed out onto the same course that the captain had taken, as insulting as being thrown was, Alwen knew it was for the best. She had zero EV experience and likely would have overshot the ship.

She at least oriented herself feet first before she entered the gravity, her momentum shifted as she entered the two-and-a-half-meter field that extended above the ship for repair work, and she fell the short distance and stumbled a little as she landed. Seconds later the rest of the team had joined them. Astarte walked to the edge and dropped off the side, gracefully borrowing a little downward force from the gravity field to drop down onto the next ship. They moved across the hulls of four different ships until they stood above one ominous ship. Its shape was vaguely threatening to Alwen's sensibilities, and she knew instinctively that this was the pirate's ship.