Return to the atypical
08 Oct 2016Tristan Pacheco
So we were finally ordered to go back to our previous task of re-securing the stolen intel. In addition, my previous weapons test is officially finished, and I got rid of the experimental missiles in place of my own multi-cannons. Now, though, someone way up the chain of command is giving me a new set of weapons that aren't finished yet. Unlike the missiles, these will be put in my class 4 hardpoints. Some kind of pulse lasers, I think, which is convenient since that's what I'm used to having on those hardpoints. I don't know the specifics, but I believe I remember my CO telling me the heat they put out is nearly double, which is a mixed blessing. Either way, we have to finish our current task first. And, as of today, we've gotten a head start. We split up, each of us in a different nearby star system, and one by one went through the sources the intel team gave us. Due to compartmentalization, I actually only know mine. I was in an Imperial system with a very odd name...Choco-something.My two sources were a man by the name of Art McEllistra, and a computer terminal in a nearby outpost. I met Art in an upscale diner onboard the Coriolis station we were on, and I asked him who he was and what he had for me. Apparently the Federation really does have spies, because he claimed to be one, and he told me of an Imperial supply convoy that passed through 6 days prior. That's something, but not enough, so that's where the terminal came in. This part was far trickier. First of all, my Corvette couldn't dock at the outpost, so I had to take a shuttle using my own money. Ended up in an Adder, economy class cabin to lower any suspicion. When I got there, there was a security shakedown, which I had to avoid somehow, since I had a quite bulky device meant to hack into the terminal whenever I found it. I spent several minutes in line looking around for an alternate entrance, but couldn't find one. The idea I came up with exemplifies why special operations training was necessary in the first place.
The pilot of the Adder was sitting in the pilot's lounge drinking some kind of cocktail, so I left the line and informed him that I had left my "jacket" in my seat. He motioned me to go ahead and go get it: perfect. So, I walked back to the hangar, counting on the pilot following Pilot's Federation regulations. Once aboard, I headed straight to the cargo bay, and found what I was looking for, an HE suit, with attached oxygen and nitrogen tanks. Even better, it was red, the same color as the actual dock workers. Donning it, and following the maintenance corridors up to the pad, I walked around to the fighter entrance of the outpost and entered through auxiliary exit number 6. I didn't see exits number 1-5 anywhere, so I wondered if the door was taken off another station. Either way, once inside the terminal I was looking for was through two doors, and was unguarded. Attaching the device to the machine, I waited for a few minutes, and suddenly, the UI sprung up with the username and password already typed in. From that point, it was easy enough to locate the logs of visiting ships by running a tunnel through to the main databanks, possible only thanks to admin access. The logs were extensive for such a small station, and it took what seemed like an hour to find the entries I was looking for, but once I found them, they stuck out like a sore thumb:
2/10/3302|1318Z|Gutamaya Imperial Courier|TS:Imperial Navy Vessel|FP: 664821-1
2/10/3302|1318Z|Gutamaya Imperial Eagle|TS: Imperial Navy Vessel|FP: 664821-1
2/10/3302|1318Z|Gutamaya Imperial Eagle|TS: Imperial Navy Vessel|FP: 664821-1
2/10/3302|1319Z|Gutamaya Imperial Eagle|TS: Imperial Navy Vessel|FP: 664821-1
The dates on the terminal used the odd Imperial calendar order of day first, month second, so they matched: 6 days prior. They were also on the same flight plan- 664821-1. The plan's destination? A small, Imperial military outpost in Muang. I immediately reported the location to my CO. I binned the hacking device, ditched the HE suit, and walked around aimlessly until I found a maintenance technician. I told him I was lost and looking for the way to the docks. He led me to the exit, and I found passage by way of a Hauler back to the Coriolis station, where FNS Last Horse of the Apocalypse was docked. Then I headed to Muang, without my squadron.
Once I got there, finding the outpost was not difficult. The only real security was a Sidewinder, the Imperial Courier the logs referenced, and a few anti ship turrets. There were skimmers and anti-vehicle turrets, but they didn't even dent my shields. I made short work of them.
Then I landed, hopped into my SRV, and hooked myself into the outpost's network, stealing the already stolen data. Then I left, with one more successful mission under my belt and an awesome story to tell my squad mates.