Age of Lies (Original Version)

Chapter 8

Markelium, Quincy and the rest of the marines held onto their buckles as the pilots tried their best to avoid the incoming fire. A few of the newer marines lost their lunch as their stomachs couldn't handle the internal G's that the bird was pulling as it changed courses rapidly.

"Thank God for scrubbers right sir?" Called a burly marine near Markelium and Quincy.

"Aye. I am thankful for that. But I plan to keep my null suit on for now anyways." Called Markelium with a chuckle.

"I agree on that sir." Replied the marine who also had his nullsuit on still. Looking out of the small viewing cameras that were attached to the outside of the dropship gave Markelium a view of the battle taking place. The Prince had thankfully been at battle ready ever since they dropped out of warp and now with her shields up and guns blazing away it seemed like Captain Kelly was trying to focus fire on the engines and weapon placements of the unknown ship. Moments later one of Prince's main guns struck a solid blow to the main engines of the assailant. The marines who were able to control their stomachs gave a cheer and watched as the Prince moved in behind the old dark frigate and disabled it after several more minutes of trading fire.

A few minutes later Markelium received a call from Captain Kelly.

"Well looks like we managed to get out of that without any serious damage thankfully. However the same can't be said for our friend over there. Since you and the marines are already in the air, I need you to board that ship and eliminate any hostiles and grab any data that you can. Then report back to me. So for now I am placing you in charge of the marines on your bird, I will send the confirmation to Travis in a moment. Kelly out."

Markelium gave his acknowledgment and opened a line to Captain Travis. "Captain Kelly just placed me in charge of the marines on this bird, and he wants us to board that craft and eliminate all hostiles and gather whatever data that we can get. I think that we can enter the ship through some of the holes that the Prince made in her hull. From there we should be able to get to key areas of the ship."

"Sounds good. I'll take my bird aft and clear the engineering and start going from their stern. Take your bird and clear the bridge and get that info. Then clear the ship after that." Replied Captain Travis. Markelium commed the pilot and told him where to head and then opened a comm to the marines that were on the dropship with him.

"Alright men. Many of you may not know me but I'm the new officer on board the Prince, and I shall get the honor to board this unknown ship with you and figure out what's going on. They may be responsible for the deaths of the people on the freighter. So let's get on that ship and get this settled. I hope to find you safe back aboard the Prince. So let's get this started."

"OOH RAA!" Cried the marines. "Don't worry about us. We'll take care of those dingos for you anytime." Cried the marine who had been talking to Markelium earlier. The pilot sent Markelium info on possible breach points and he picked one that was just aft of the bridge near a minimally damaged airlock. The pilot banked the craft and raced to the location dodging debris that littered the area. The red warning lights shifted to yellow warning the marines to be ready for the drop. The dropship settled onto the hull and the bay doors slowly opened a moment later when the light turned green. The marines ran with their boots set to magnetic so they could grip the hull while in space without floating off. They cut through the debris that blocked the airlock and began pouring into the ship as fast as the airlock could cycle the air. Eventually the three squads were able to board the derelict ship and they began moving to secure the area. Markelium and Quincy followed the marines as they made their way to the bridge. Drake's squad which was ahead of the main group came under enemy fire as they came across a junction in the dark maze of corridors. They quickly pushed the opposition back with minimum injuries and the main team continued towards the bridge more wary than before. Markelium brought his gun up as several enemy marines clothed in dark grey null suits rounded a corner.

"HALT OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!" Called Markelium over an open comm hoping to prevent as much bloodshed as possible. At that moment Quincy poked his head around the corner curious as to what was going on. Markelium gave another warning but it was in vain as the enemy marines began to raise their weapons, Markelium and the marines opened fire putting down the resistance. Luckily the ship was pressurized in this section with oxygen because at that moment Quincy began to lose his lunch after he ripped his nullsuit's helmet off. Markelium patted him on the back and the squad moved forward. Drake and his squad caught up and began to guard the rear. Upon reaching the bridge they found heavy resistance and ended up having to fight for several minutes before the enemy retreated. Luckily no casualties occurred due to the marines' heavy armor. The marines pushed carefully forward onto the bridge finding no enemies they quickly spread out and secured the bridge.

"Quincy, go plug in and get the ship's blueprints if you can. I'll see if the security cameras are working." They both raced off in their separate directions and began their work. It took Markelium several moments to find a working console that connected to the ships security system and when he began searching through the ship unexpected sights filled his vision.

Parts of the ship seemed packed full of civilians and supplies while other sections seemed packed full of equipment for war. This confused Markelium greatly.

"Now why would civilians be on a ship like this?" He asked himself. These people didn't act in the way he expected pirates to.

"I GOT IT!" Yelled Quincy as he began sending the schematics to the squads. "Hey someone tell the squads to be mindful of possible civilians on the ship." Yelled Markelium to one of the squad leaders.

"Aye sir." Called out Myra as she began relaying the info.

Markelium continued to explore the ship through the cameras finding more and more that intrigued him. "Alright let's head out. There's something I need to check." Markelium said to Quincy and Myra as he got up from the console. Moments later they headed out into the dim hallways and into the depths of the ship.