The Hickman Affair

Part 1 - Nervous Jump

Her stomach churned and swam again as she looked at the far port hole. Ajax had been staring at that thing for the last fifteen minutes. She couldn't tear her eyes away from it. Every time she tried her head swam and she wanted to throw up.

She suppressed the urge one last time. I can do this she said to herself.

Finally able to pull her eyes from the porthole, She looked around at the other seventeen space marines. There matt black armor was dented and pockmarked. Each set of armor was battle worn and time tested. The Six Points, known for their unwavering duty to the Syndicate and to each other. Ruthless and deadly, saved for only the most daring and foolhardy missions.

She had been part of the Six Point's for less than two weeks. In that time they had hazed her and harassed her. But they hadn't really made her part of the team.

Pulling at her gauntlet for the hundredth time she wondered again how she had gotten here. She had spent the last eighteen months in basic and in splicer tech training. Graduating from training at the top of her class. Her instructors had recommend her for a special ops team. As luck would have it the Six Points had just lost their splicer in combat and were in need of new one. So she got assigned here as the only currently available candidate.

Her Commanding Officer Sergeant Asbury. Floated down the hall like a thunderstorm. Coming to a halt just outside the jump staging area. He stopped and turned to face the group. The zero-g of the ship causing him to rotate just a little bit. Years of practice on low gravity ships had perfected his movements.

Ajax being at the back and closest to the hallway turned to see what he was doing. He looked frustrated. His skull painted helmet under one arm and his crew cut hair standing on end.

He let out a frustrated breath and turned to look back down the corridor he had just stormed through. Another man came into view and her C.O. gave a half hearted salute.

"I can not follow that order Captain," He said before being addressed by the Captain of the Gridley.

"You can and you will," the Captain replied.

Captain Anderson was a tall thin man. The kind of body a man has from years of service on military vessels with little or no gravity on them. He extra long limbs and wiry frame was suited for the low-g maneuvering that came from long and deep space travel. Gravity plating was expensive and very costly to the fuel of a space ship. So the marines cut the usage of it to only specialty class ships. The Gridley was not one of those.

"The Private Security has their own splicer. You said that was why we were using outside security forces."

"Yes and we need ours to stay with them to keep an eye on them," the captain said.

Asbury turned to look at his men, each one holding onto the grapple line set at the sides of the jump portal. None of them giving him any mind, just waiting for orders. Each at attention with their helmets under their arms. A wall of matt black paint and white skull.

All except Ajax, who stared at him intently. Her stomach again ready to show its contents to her fellow companions.

He smiled at her and looked back at the Captain, "Fine Captain. Your orders will be followed. But I want it on record that this is a piss up job."

"Your objection will be noted sargent. Now get to work, we should be matching velocities in the next five minutes. Your men need to be ready."

Sargent Asbury saluted, "My men are always ready."

The captain pushed off on one of the walls to turn around and launched himself back down the corridor.

The captain cursed under his breath as he floated down the middle of his men.

"Jumpmaster, ready the men." He barked as an order.

"You heard the man, Lets kick the tires and light the fires. Helmets on boys. Jump time is t minus two minutes."

Ajax followed orders and pushed her helmet into place. Total blackness met her as her bootup sequence started. The full wrap around screen, took a second to engage and run through its startup.

A moment later her view popped into view. Retinal tracking and targeting came online. Weapons checks and ordnance checks flashed in the bottom corner of her screen. All turning from red to yellow to green as it all checked out.

She checked her armers charge and environmental seals. All came back green.

Once satisfied she loaded up her splicer programs. The hardware and software to hack through any security systems and breach any firewalls. Or at least that was the idea. The mix of military grade software and her home grown systems were second nature to her. It felt good to finally be in the full suite.

She had never been in real combat, just simulators. The real armor was more constricting and the feel of it was a little bit more responsive. She hoped that she wouldn't need the AP-47 assault rifle strapped to her back or the vibroblade belted to her side. Both of which she had trained heavily with.

Once her system checks were all done, the sergeants icon pinged her for a private channel request. She okayed the hookup.

"Gunny Ajax, once we rendezvous with the private security personnel you are to stick to them like a banda leech. You are to report back to me any funny business," he said.

"Got it sargent."

"Your vitals are a little high gunny, you doing alright."

"Just nervous for my first jump," she answered.

"Suck it up, you have a job to do."

"Yes sargent," she yelled back into the intercom.

"That's more like it gunny."

He switched back to the public channel, "Alright marines. We have a job to do. Clear the way for the private security and secure the bridge. The ship has been disabled with EMP, so this will be a live scanner operation. That will make you targets if they have any power armor. If they do, do not engage. Wait for Tick to make his way up."

Ajax looked over at Tick. He was in a hulking piece of Power Armor. Painted black like the rest of the Six Points, but it was clean and unblemished, just like her armor. It was an experimental Clemson class, ship boarding specialty bot. Across its back was a PB-13 Plasma cannon. That could rain down fire at 1500 rounds a minute. Ripping any light armor to shreds. It specializes in anti-armor in ship boarding situations.

If the PB-13 didn't do the trick its chain-sword would do the rest. Tick spun it up as a check and to make sure everyone was reminded of just what that sword could do.

Hand to hand combat in tight ship corridors was the specialty of the SIx Points. With dozens of successful ship boardings under their watch. In space heavy weapons tended to rip holes in ships. Causing explosive decompression and damage to the ships. So lower powered and hand to hand were used to take down hardened foes like Power Armorer and Drone Bots.

"Ready to rock, sargent," Tick yelled out over the public channel.

"Alright Six Points, you know the drill. This is no civy ship full of clone babies. This is a pirate visell holding valuable stolen Syndicate information. Shoot first and ask questions later. There will be casualties today and it sure as Gimlors Fire better not be one of you," the sergeant said over public channel.

"You heard the man, Skulls up!," the jump master said as he reached out and pressed a large button on the wall.

"Hurrah," all the space marines yelled as a large hatch closed behind them.

Second later the air was sucked out of the Gridley. Ajax felt her heart racing as if it was going to burst the seals on her armor. She reached back and gripped her rifle. Bringing it up to its ready position. She switched it from safe fire to live and held her breath.

The jump port opened in front of her and her team. A window of blackness and pinpricks of light. The first of the marines pushed off and through the hole. Each coming out in pairs.

Quickly Ajax and Tick were the only two in the hatch with the sargent and the Jump Master. The sergeant gave Ajax a little push and she leapt out into space.