Hours of Darkness - A One Part Story
24 Nov 2021Isabella Adair-Levine
To explain this: This is something I decided to write up that follows the lore of TITAN Contractors and the story created by Radiumio. Here follows the events of the Solaris being attacked and Isabella's perspective during it. Hopefully, it's interesting and you like it. Thanks!
//11.08.3307 - 15:56 UGT//
"It's fine. They turned off over an hour ago, why do you look so nervous? Nothing's going to happen if it hasn't happened yet. Just...please. I need to figure out why the power plant to my ship keeps fluctuating and causing other systems to go haywire." Isabella said after nearly an hour ago, the alarms blared and the PA system announcer explained the possible imminent attack from Paladin Interstellar. Isabella stood there in Hangar 02 watching the maintenance crew tentatively work on her ship for the past 45 minutes, possibly longer. They all seemed on edge as she watched two of the four walking single file back up the ramp of her Cobra Mk III.
She was onboard the Solaris, the TITAN Contractors flagship, a day now after getting a combat evaluation from CSF so that she could perform in the field alongside CSF forces. Due to the current war with the mercenary group, all actions against Paladin and the subsequent host faction they occupy the settlement of is a crime if not under the permit issued to Centurion Special Forces. With an amendment to that permit, it now accompanied Commanders. But she needed to prove she was capable for CSF operations. Henceforth; Combat Evaluation the day before.
Today, she looked to get her own ship looked at due to power malfunctions all of a sudden when starting her ship's drives. Her plans were to take off and head to the Pleiades for more rescues but now her plans were foiled. She was stuck here on the Solaris when a potential attack was imminent and the Carrier now locked down. The red lights and alarms lasted for a few minutes before they ended and Isabella begged them to continue their tasks. But now an hour had passed and she asked about progression to one of the lead guys.
"Hey, so how's it looking? What's going on with my Cobra?" The man looked at her. A name tag on his pressurized coveralls being a maintenance crewman in space. //G. Hernandez//. He gave a pensive look at her Cobra then shrugged. "Ma'am, your Power Plant was damaged severely and needs to be replaced completely. There's...modifications that...well we don't know what they are. Plus you're running an undersized power plant on your ship. It could be being overworked and that could be the precipice of your issue." Isabella shook her head. "No. No, that power plant can output a megaton of power throughout the system. It's not overworked. I've tested the systems and it's all optimal. I could fit two beam lasers and continuously fire for hours before the power plant becomes 'overworked'. It's a Guardian Hybrid."
Hernandez's eyes widened to that. Realization filling his eyes. "Ahh. That makes sense. You understand that there could be some...tweaking that needs to be done by one of those...tech brokers. I don't work with alien-human hybrid technology. Sor-" A shrinking alarm blares through the hangar nearly deafening Isabella at first. Wide-eyed, she looked around as if something would happen or a voice over the PA system would announce something of importance but nothing came. Nothing but sudden darkness.
It was black. Pitch black. Isabella couldn't see anything until backup lights kicked in and flooded the hangar in an ominous red glow. Then suddenly the large heavy hangar doors leading to a smaller set of doors that connected to the Carriers stretching corridors began to close. The two men and Isabella watched in both shock and confusion as the heavy doors slammed shut, unbeknownst to them, locking them inside. The two other maintenance crew members come jogging towards Isabella and the rest. Worried and confused glances traded amongst each other. "The hell is going on? Did the power just go out?" Another man chimed in seconds after. "Why did the power go out? You think we're finally under attack? Damn! I need to contact my wife." Then another and another before finally all four were talking over each other. Isabella raised her hand. "Hey...hey! HEY! Shut up for a minute! Listen…" Everyone went quiet. There was nothing but the ambient sounds of the ventilation system still functioning in the powerless Carrier. A backup emergency power generator to support life support, no doubt. "I...don't hear anything."
"Exactly!" Isabella said. Her voice echoed throughout the hangar. "We're not under attack. So...we should just...sit. Relax...not panic and wait till the power turns back on and then we can get out and be fine." The four looked at her then shrugged. "What do we do for the time being?"
"Sleep, bro! I'm sleeping." Isabella gestured a hand to him and smiled. "There you go. Sleep." The one-man smiled back and found himself a crate to sit on and lean back. The other 3 dispersed as Isabella looked back towards the heavy pressure door. A haunting red glow lighting up half the door. Everything else was plunged in darkness. There had to be a way out, she thought as she began walking across the hangar deck and towards the heavy-set double door. She studied it looking for an access panel to see if there possibly was an override code. Not seeing one in the center of the door where they both met, she began to walk to the right-most side and observe. Eventually, she came to the end and found nothing so she walked to the other side where she did come across an emergency panel. It could be cut via a plasma cutting tool that was situated in a wall-mounted container just beside the emergency panel. She contemplated for several moments if she should cut it and open the doors but instead decided to wait until the power came back online. So unamused, Isabella headed back to the 4 maintenance crew members and sat along with them to participate in the small talk that turned into a huge conversation about Thargoids, their origin, and government cover-ups.
// 11.08.3307 - 18:23 UGT//
Nearly two hours had passed by before Isabella broke away from the group hearing a loud reverberating explosion on the other side of the heavy hangar doors. Something now she'd faintly heard several times throughout the group's intense conversations but this time it was loud enough to raise the attention of everyone. "Hey, yo. The hell was that?" One man said. Another spoke up after him. "The lights still haven't come on. This isn't normal. Something is happening." Isabella turned her head back and pointed in agreement to the guy who spoke the latter. "Something is going on and I think I hear gunfire. We need to open this door right now. There's an emergency release, I think." Before anyone could stop her, Isabella ran with magnetic connected boots to a wall-mounted container where she would likely find the plasma cutting torch. She released the hatch on the container and opened it to grab the cutting tool that laid inside. Wasting no time, she cut away at the emergency panel whilst hearing much more defined gunshots and faint shouts much more frequently. Her cut finished and she grabbed the handle of the panel pulling it free from its freshly red hot cut points. It came off to reveal an emergency override key to punch into a small number pad and accept. She frantically pushed the code in but to no avail as an error code popped up. She went to try again but the same situation occurred. Error. She cursed out loud and did it once more resulting in the same outcome as the previous two times before a hand landed on her shoulder that made her jump and spin around to see who it was. "Hernandez, holy shit! What?" He pointed to his left and Isabella followed. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust but she noticed a set of railings, a gate, and a ramp that went up then right to a set of smaller pressure doors. "Emergency access way. It's for the need to evacuate personnel from the hangar rather than equipment through these bigger doors. Plus for whatever reason, it's not operating as it should." He said as Isabella moved towards the gate and pushed them open.
"Isabella, what's your plan? There's shooting out there?" Hernandez said, concern and fear written across his face. "Plans simple. I make our way to the CSF sub deck and rally with them. Figure out what's going on. You guys just stay put here. I'll be back." She said as the other three came running up. "What? No, we've been sitting here for almost two hours. Can't sit in the dark for any longer. We'll...join you. I guess. We're clearly under attack and it's probably best if you have back up."
"Bro, we should just stay here. We don't even have weapons to defend ourselves. Isabella, with all due respect, we should wait it out. CSF probably got it under wraps." Said one of the gentlemen before another heavy explosion reverberated through the deck they stood upon. The fighting must've been close, Isabella thought. "Guys. I'm not asking you to come. But I'm going either way. So you can join me or not but I'm helping defend this carrier." Isabella said, looking between them all. Hernandez sighed and nodded his head stepping to her side. "Going with." A lanky short black-haired man with the name tag //V. Watson// stepped beside Hernandez followed by another. The last guy stood there unmoving. Determined to hold true to his earlier recommendation. Isabella nodded his way then turned to walk up the ramp and to the pressure doors. The other three on her heels. "Why is everything bloody locked?" She said in frustration at the scan pad. "Identification. All it needs is Identification." One of the men behind her said. "Here." Hernandez stepped forward and pressed his ID card to the scanner. It lit up green and the doors slid open to reveal a catwalk way that stretched over a dark abyss. The walkway was so dark that Isabella thought for a moment on heading back and grabbing her pack that had the mounted light on it but decided otherwise.
"Let's go." She said with confidence that didn't match her apprehensive steps forward. She moved several feet into what was an abyss before magnetic booted footsteps thudded behind her and the others. "Guys! Wait up. I've decided to come with yo-" The entire corridor violently shook, the deck beneath their feet delivering a shock wave the shook bone. The man running in tripped himself from the sudden violent shockwaves that disrupted his mag boots. His head went first in an awkward stumble from half-locked boots and connected with the railings of the walkway. Isabella swore she heard bone and metal connect making a fleshy thwack sound as she turned to look. Hernandez and Watson were first to his aid, the poor bastard now completely unconscious.
"Damien!? Shit. He's out." Watson exclaimed. "What the hell was that explosion? That felt bloody close." A secondary explosion suddenly rocked the area again, Isabella covering herself as if the metal structure above her would collapse on her. "He's bleeding from his head. He could have a concussion or something. We need to get him medical." Isabella nodded in agreement. "Well unless someone wants to stay here with him until we're dead or sucking vacuum, I suggest moving him so we can figure out what's happening." Hernandez turned his head to Isabella as he brought Damien's arm over his shoulders alongside Watson with the other side. "It's Paladin Interstellar. There's no one else. But really, we need to take him to the med wing, now. He's bleeding badly. Hey~" He pointed at Watson. "~careful with him, yeah? We'll lift on three. One...two…three!" The two men lifted the unconscious body and supported the weight underneath themselves. "Alright. Stay close to me." Isabella said, taking the lead and crossing the walkway. A single hand ran across the guard rail to direct her through the darkness.
She reached the other end and pushed the keypad to the right to simply open the door. She stepped out cautiously to an eerie red glow of an empty corridor stretching both left and right. A glance to her right bore no interest but to her left, she found dark silhouettes on the ground. Bodies. She quickly ran towards them leaving the others in her wake. She approached six bodies spaced out. All of them were dead and one dying. Quickly she noticed they weren't CSF operatives as they didn't have their typical helmet or armour. These guys were easily identifiable as Paladin Mercs. How they even got on, Isabella could only guess. She was in the dark, figuratively and literally. With a frustrated sigh, she bent over and grabbed a P-15 from off a dead body followed by a TK Aphelion Assault Rifle. She checked the visual indicator on the weapon for charged shots left and found there were only 15 shots left so she crouched down over the body she took it from and rummaged through for more ammunition. Finding a bunch of cells in a pouch attached to a belt wrapped around the wearer's waist, she removed it off the mercenary and placed it on herself, reloading the weapon as well. After that, she stood back up and moved to the next body to scavenge more ammo and equipment like grenades and Shield Disruptors. She didn't have her pack on her so she was shieldless making her vulnerable to all sorts of attacks so she went around each dead body taking anything that might help her until finally ending on the one who was still alive but bleeding profusely from the neck he desperately clutched. Isabella looked down on him and frowned seeing him struggle for life. For a breath.
She took a knee beside the injured merc and disarmed him of his Zenith laser pistol to pass it over to one of the maintenance crew behind her now. The weapon was taken and she faced back towards the dying man. His dark red blood was almost black to the red hue of the corridor. "Let go. Just let go." Isabella said calmly. The man kept fighting until his facial expression softened and his body went limp. His corpse almost looked frozen in time in the zero gravity. "God damn...that was some messed up shit, yo." Said one of the men. He was the one holding the Zenith by his side. Isabella looked at him. "You know how to use that thing?" He looked at her and shook his head. "Hell nah I don't! You think I'm some crazy CSF-trained soldier or somethin? I just work on ships." Isabella nodded and took the gun from him. "I'll give you the ten-second run down. Your friends can't shoot and carry someone so I'm counting on you to cover me." His eyes widened in the low light and he shook his head. An explosion somewhere down the corridor or a connecting one echoed drawing booths attention. Isabella was the first to refocus. "Give me your hand." He didn't so Isabella took it and placed the laser pistol in his hands. She pointed at parts of the gun. "Muzzle; keep away from me and yourself. Trigger; only put your finger on it if you're prepared to shoot. Battery cell; if the weapon doesn't shoot anymore, press the button on the side and pull the battery. Replace it with-" She crouched down and rummaged through a thigh pouch to retrieve a cylindrical battery cell for the laser pistol. "-this. Understand?" He shook his head. "No…" Another explosion echoed and the sound of gunfire from somewhere picked up in intensity. "You'll learn on the fly then. Come on."
//11.8.3307 - 19:15 UGT//
Isabella hadn't stopped moving since they entered the long stretches of corridors the carrier had. In the dark and with an unconscious man, it made progress incredibly slow with finding the right areas that they needed to go. Headed down one boring long corridor, Isabella came to a four-way cross and turned left fairly confident that the way to the turbolifts was at the end. She knew since the power was off, the lifts wouldn't operate but there was an emergency access way that could be used to move up and down. She just needed to get there but unfortunately for her and the maintenance crew that followed her, they ran into a full squadron of Paladin Interstellar Mercenaries. The one turned to face her and the others and both froze for a moment like a deer in headlights. "Hostile contacts!" Like a pack of prairie dogs, all 10 mercenary heads snapped her way followed by guns. "Go back! Go back!" Isabella yelled as bullets and golden streaks came screaming past her and the other four. She managed to round the corner going left but only three men rounded. One missing. "Shit! We dropped Damien in our panic! Hold on!"
"NO!" Isabella said, trying to stop one of the men she never got the name of. He turned the corner, Zenith laser pistol in hand, and before he got a shot off, a barrage of bullets slammed into his unarmored shieldless flesh. His body froze in time for a split second, half floating half mag-locked to the floor before a round struck him in the face sending his body as well as splotches of thick dark liquid back. Isabella flinched at the horrific sudden scene and turned to face the last two men that were with her. Both of them were stuck in a state of shock. "Watson, Hendrick! Come on! We need to fa-" Isabella stopped at seeing a set of heavy pressure doors at the end of the corridor. They were sealed closed. The realization finally hit her that she was trapped and just led the remaining people who weren't even combatants, into that same trap. No way out. She cursed out loud taking a quick second glance back to where the body of the one maintenance crew worker was. The one she failed to learn the name of. A sadness, even a sense of desperation, washed over her for a moment. She didn't know what to do. How to save the rest. Her eyes darted around at the far end of the dark corridor.
"There! Head for those...uhh...crates over there! Take this and defend yourself!" She took the P-15 from her magnetic holster and tossed it towards Hernandez along with the pouch that she stored the ammunition inside of for the weapon. He caught the weapon mid-air and flipped it facing forward where he then took aim downrange at the now rounding mercenaries. Four consecutive shots rang out from the flashing muzzle of the P-15 that were immediately absorbed by shields of their enemy. Isabella knew for a fact that she was outmatched by numbers and fire superiority. A sneaking back thought told her she wouldn't survive this.
"Go! I'll cover you! Just run!" She yelled, firing her laser rifle down the corridor. Fortunately, they either weren't brave or properly coordinated as the three that tried rounding the corner immediately backed up upon taking fire, nearly stumbling over each other. This gave Isabella time to retreat herself and find a small alcove several feet back in the corridor wall that supported a kiosk computer system. She crouched to one knee and dug in, bracing her rifle against the corner waiting for the mercenaries to regain their confidence and round the corner to which they did. But this time, an extra merc came around the corner.
Without a second of hesitation, Isabella pulled the trigger letting the laser rifle chime as it delivered gold rods of energy down towards its intended targets. The first mercenary at the front she focused her shots on had their shields pop from the few bursts that her rifle gave. They attempted to halt in their tracks to find non-existent cover in an open corridor but to no avail. The five mercenaries were now fully committed and nothing could stop the hail of lasers that struck the poor bastard's front side. Isabella's target tried to turn away to cover his face but too many small circular red marks peppered his exterior clothing that covered his combat suit causing him to stop moving and like the others that died in zero gravity, became frozen in time as their bodies drift slowly. With her threat removed from the field, she focused in on another target that attempted to close the distance they had in the corridor. Her next target's shields nearly popped as well but the rifle's whine grew louder and louder as it reached the end of its charge before it wouldn't fire anymore.
"Shit…" Isabella said as she moved back into the alcove and extracted the cell, replacing it with a new one she grabbed from her newly acquired belt. She placed it into the side of the gun and glanced back at the other two that were still with her to check if they were alright. Hernandez was the only one armed and the only one with his arms and gun rested on top of the strapped down crate firing careful shots that hit their mark but had no effect on the 4 shielded mercenaries that carelessly pushed forward. "Hernandez! hit the ones I do! Understood!" She yelled out. It wasn't easy to see but it looked like he gave a nod in understanding so she brought her rifle back into her shoulders and targeted the closest guy who brazenly pushed up with the remaining four. It wasn't until now, bullets, lasers, and the periodic purple plasma bolts came hurtling down the corridor from the corners of where the corridor split into the connecting one they retreated out of. It was the other mercs. Probably the not-so-cannon fodder type. Isabella could tell some of the guys that pushed them weren't experienced as they didn't coordinate their fire support very well on their push. It allowed Isabella to continue firing again, knocking the shields of another one; a bullet following seconds after that struck the mercenaries' faceplate. His body froze and drifted Isabella's way as she continued to fire the last burst before replacing the cell with a new one once more. While she did this, she glanced back and saw another alcove that supported a second kiosk and planned to fall back near that. It was only a few feet from where Hernandez and Watson took cover behind their crate and her idea was to swap places with them. All she needed was an opportunity and that opportunity might have just presented itself in a morbid way. A body shield.
The corpse of her second enemy found her and so she grabbed the body of her second victim and used it as a shield whilst she easily leveled her laser rifle in zero-g with one hand to fire inaccurate bursts of laser fire at her enemies. Splotches of spherical red droplets fell from the shattered faceplate of the corpse she used and landed on her cheek. The oddly warm liquid didn't phase Isabella besides the slightest grimace while she fired her last charge. In seconds, she reached the two and yelled at them to get into the alcove behind her. They both compiled freeing up space behind the crate to which Isabella let go of the body and took cover behind to place another fresh charging cell into the gun but to no avail. She reached in where her ammunition was being held and felt nothing there. No battery cell was left to charge the rifle for the next volley she wanted to deliver. All hope of survival flushed out of her as she rested her back against the crate and...gave up. It wasn't like her to give up but after everything with Paladin, after everything before that at Styx, this was where she'd meet her end. At the dead-end of a locked-down carrier corridor. Hernandez, who continued to fire, yelled at her. "Isabella! The rest are pushing! They dropped one of those bubble shields to cover their advance! Isabella!?"
The world for her suddenly began to slow as she watched the words leave his mouth and a stray round strike his arm forcing him back into the safety of the alcove. This was it, she thought. She'd die on this day with no one she knew. She could only think of one person. Thallia. Isabella's mind went to her as she thought about her beautiful face and features. Her jokes and laughter. The bouncy joy in her voice and steps. A sadness struck her knowing Thallia was gone for a long while and that she'd never see her again after today. All she could think about was the last words she spoke and the soft kiss of a goodbye. Family business, her reason was. Isabella wished now she was there with her. Maybe if she'd just pushed harder to come over her protest not to or even just worked something out, she wouldn't be here. Trapped with an onslaught of Paladin mercenaries pushing her. "Isabella! Please! They're on top of us!" So deep in thought and with the noise of gunshots, she barely heard Hernandez yelling at her. She looked up at him and frowned. "I'm sorry."
Isabella remained in her defeated trance until she picked up the odd sounds of increased shooting albeit nothing more came flying at her. She twisted herself to face the threat that was down the corridor but found that they had been turned around and shooting to their rear. A slight smile grew across Isabella's face as the weight of stress lifted from her shoulders making her feel lighter and full of newfound energy. Hope. She looked back at Hernandez and waved for him to pass the gun to which he did. She caught it mid-air, turned, then began to pick off the Paladin mercs that were wounded. One by one until there was nothing but a mess of floating bodies in the corridor. With a rush of excitement at being saved, Isabella stepped out from behind the crates and immediately had weapons pointed at her.
"Whoa! Blue, blue! Easy! Easy guys." The weapons lowered, most likely from a quick scan from their HUD's inside their helmets, and one approached her. "It's not safe, ma'am. You need to stay out of the corridors." Isabella placed her hands up, weapon pointed upwards. "We were trying to get-" She paused a beat remembering the one they tried getting to medical was killed along with another that tried to go back for him. More to add to her conscience. She couldn't even save basic crew members. "We need to get to medical, sir." Hernandez said, stepping forward beside Isabella. He gripped his arm where he got shot and Isabella recalled him getting hit by a stray round. What appeared to be the CSF squad leader stepped forward and faced Isabella. "We'll send two men to escort you safely to the medical wing. The carrier's still on lockdown but your escorts-" He pointed to two of his men. "-will help you traverse the carrier safely." One of her escorts stepped forward looking like the rest of all the others. Nothing to distinguish or humanize the person before her. The CSF soldier simply waved and Isabella along with the two others followed.
With a proper escort that most likely had a map of the area to avoid inaccessible areas, their journey to the medical wing didn't take them long. By the time they arrived, the area was just like all others. Dark with an ominous red emergency light to allow things to be seen in a blood-red. The medical wing was packed with injured and Blustar personnel moving in and out of rooms and up and down the medical wing corridor. Isabella caught the arm of one and told the woman about Hernandez. She took a quick glance at him and immediately pointed down the corridor before speeding away in the opposite direction. Isabella knew by her second glance that they were triaging injuries. Hernandez was the least serious. "Come on. Let's go" Isabella, now without her escort, led the way down the corridor and to a large room where others with less serious injuries were. Her along with Hernandez and Watson, who tailed behind, found a spot to rest while they waited only a few moments for a Blustar medical personnel to arrive. One did, taking Hernandez with the other two to a room where the medic looked at his arm. The Blustar medic worked his magic as Isabella let her mind hang on the events that just transpired. She dwelled on failing to save the two maintenance crews' friends feeling like she'd failed them. She dwelled on the matter at hand, being attacked by Paladin with a full-frontal assault. Her mind then shifted and she wondered where the Squadron Commander was. 'Probably locked down in some panic room for protection.', Isabella thought. That was after all Paladins' target. To kill Aurora.
Isabella's mind continued to wonder as the shouts, pained groans, and clattering boots on a metallic floor became background noise in her trance. The only thing that broke her out of it was when the carrier's internal lights flashed on, flooding the room she was in with Hernandez and Watson, full of blinding light. Reactively she squinted and covered her face but her eyes quickly adjusted. "Finally! Powers back on." Watson said with a joyous smile. Isabella was there with him. Feeling another ten pounds of weight lift from her shoulders. They weren't going to die or be overrun. Not with the Carrier at full power again. Isabella couldn't wipe the smile off her face even if she tried. There were most definitely still hostiles on board but she was confident that CSF would handle them swiftly and without mercy. She was blown away at how all of this even managed to be. How the carrier lost power and how loads of Paladin Mercs boarded the Solaris and did so much damage. Her fists were in a ball when someone in the medical wings stretching corridor shouted out in joy. "They're retreating! Haha! Our guns are back!" It was a man in a crewman's suit or something similar. Isabella couldn't tell. But curious to what he claimed he saw, she stood up and moved to exit the room. She heard a pair of footsteps behind her, Watson no doubt, and marched down the corridor to a recreational room where people congregated around a large viewport window. The best view in the medical wing that looked out into space. Isabella pushed past several people trying to get through to look and eventually she did. "Oh...wow." Isabella looked out the viewport at a wonderful display of golden laser fire that arched across the blackness of space and struck several ships. Their shields flashing a brilliant blue absorbing the thermal strikes. The ships that weren't hit, moved in on one larger ship. Isabella couldn't make it out too well but she guessed it was either an Anaconda or a Corvette that was being shot at. A collective effort by other ships. Even another Corvette that engaged until the shields popped and the haul of the hostile Corvette was shredded into pieces. It took what felt like seconds but was probably a moment before the black sky shone a bright muted flash as the hostile vessel's reactor gave in, detonating. She couldn't help but release a smile as she saw the destruction of the attackers. The other waking out in a flash as their assault failed. A moment of joy washed over Isabella along with the cheering others who managed to catch a glimpse of the short combat. Isabella would've celebrated with them but her joy drained and she remembered the two she lost in the corridor. Maybe it was nothing for some people. Losing people was part of being a team...or family. Sharales said something along those lines to her a month bag, she recalled. He might have been right. He probably was. But she hated it. Every action has a reaction or consequence. If she'd hunkered down in the hangar, maybe the two she was with would be alive. Something this small to some, losing two people, might have seemed trivial. But to Isabella, it added to the weight already on top of her. She strived to be a changed person. Someone who can step away from the killing and the action. But here, once again, she found herself stuck dab in the middle of it all once more….
