How I Got Here: "Hide and Seek"
15 Aug 2022Columbuss
Commander Justin Estok. Stardate 15-AUG-3308."Gotcha..."
There' something bout being hidden that we love as human beings. Something about being undetected. Something about being unseen while still being able to survey what's happening around you that we find so appealing. Perhaps it's because it gives us an edge. An opportunity to review a situation and think about it before deciding to make yourself known. Or perhaps its more base, more instinctual. Maybe, its a little bit of both.
When we were kids on Rhea, we'd play a game called Hide and Seek. It's not a game unique to where I come from but the gist is someone gets picked to be the "it" while the others hide. The "It's" job is to find the other players while they try to remain hidden. Sometimes there will be a "goal" involved that those hiding try to reach in order to avoid being the "it" in the next round. Everyone tries to avoid being the seeker as hiding is much more fun.
If you know the feeling, then you know how John and I felt when we arrived at Barrat Orbital. Barrat Orbital was a small station and listening post under the control of Councilman Grill's people. They transported data, relayed information and even dabbled in trading. The main goal of the zero G station was to procure information and maintain the satellite network under resistance control. This was John's target.
There are many kinds of methods to stun enemies, although infiltrating a station using non-lethal tactics can be tricky. Those being assaulted often times want to defend themselves using something a little more deadly. It' important to subdue the defenders before they have the opportunity to do so, so no-one really gets hurt. As you can gather, surprise is important.
As John and I make our way to the command deck, a plethora of deck guards lay behind us as the assault team gathers their bodies and arranges them in the most comfortable position to wake up in. Once at the door, John addresses the team.
"Remember! No one gets killed. We subdue the bridge, access the satellite relay, find the Dynasty fleet and we're gone before anyone knows we were here. Are we clear?" The team agrees.
The door opens as the team storms in. It's a zero G station, which means it isn't spinning, so people are standing on the floor and the ceiling, respective to your point of view. In zero G there is no right side up. Everyone is right side up all the time, even where they're upside down.
The team makes use of their mag boots to move from floor to ceiling subduing everyone they can.
"Alright people! We just need to access your satellite network so hang tight and no-one gets hurt. Mag boots off. Everyone push off the floor to the center and lock arms." Soon the room was filled with the deck staff, floating about in zero g, their arms all locked together to keep from drifting away.
"Finn, check the network." Finn Hardy, a young man who John considered almost as a younger brother, suctions his way over to the comm terminal. He begins typing and selecting various different menus.
"Almost there John. Accessing system scanner. Preparing to ping the system."
At that moment, the room filled with a loud siren like sound. Something like you might here when you run your discovery scanner upon entering a new star system, only louder.
"John," Finn says. "I think I found em."
John suctions over to the terminal which has the A3 planet pulled up with a number of smaller blips orbiting it. As John gets closer the light from the terminal highlights John's face a dark shade of orange.
"Gotcha..."